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NINTENDO*SEGA SATURN*SONY PLAYSTATION*>SNK-ARCADE>PC-3D0 


MUM 


THE MIDEO GHMWE WRG AZINEMSSUE 3 £3.500 


SEGA RALLY 


THE SECRETS OF SEGA’S 
SUPERLATIVE SATURN RACER! 


RESIDENT EVIL- VIRTUA COP>MARVEL SUPER HEROES-VIRTUA FIGHTER 2 


FoORS 


It’s why the shoes have spikes. Lose your footing on these undulating fairways 
and uneven greens, and it's a long walk back to the top. PGA TOUR® 96 reaches new levels of authenticity, with 3D-rendered 
graphics that give each hole depth and Himalayan height. Join 10 of the world's greatest golfers in a test of sheer skill, on 
genuine championship courses that even a sherpa would think twice about tackling. The pros appear in person, digitised 
down to the last detail. And such is the level 


of graphic realism, you can almost count 


the grains in the sand traps. There are lies, damned lies, and PGA TOUR*® 96! Hit the 


rough on these courses and you're staring defeat in the face. Even when you've driven 
straight down the middle, a fairway depression will go a long way toward ruining your day. But whatever the lie, only 


mastery of the art of draw and fade will speed your ascent to the summit of the leaderboard. And when a stroke 


achieves the peak of perfection the reverse-angle replay will let you re-live the moment in all its glory, accompanied 


by expert commentary. The Game Has Changed. The Game is PGA TOUR’ 96. 


Visit EA SPORTS Bo eee 
on the Web at 


http://www.ea.com/ 


THISSF) ORIYS SPORTS 


editor 
Richard Leadbetter 


assistant editor/art editor 
Gary Harrod 


overseas editor 
Warren Harrod 


staff writer 
David $ J Hodgson 


contributors 
Dave Kelsall 
Sam Hickman 
Steve Merrett 
Kate Russell 


MAXIMUM offi 
Priory Court, 30-32 Farringdon 
Lane, London EC1R 3AU 

TEL: 0171 972 6700 

FAX: 0171 972 6710 


product manager 
Tina Hicks 


advertising manager 
Liza Hawkes 


deputy advertising manager 
Chris Perera 


publisher 
Sandra McClean 


executive managing director 
Graham Taylor. 


thanks to 
Shinseisha, all the sensei at 
Asahi Kokusai Gakuin, Namco 
Wonderpark, Electrocoin, Virgin 
Interactive, Mr Tad Yamaguchi 
Shiggertons, Billy boy, Hommas 
Duise for much Doom 
Deathmatch duncery and finally 
my darling wife for remembering 
What look like. Cheers Emap, 


cover image 
AM R&D Department #3. 


THE CONTENTS OF 


MAXIMUM EXTENDED PLAY 


SEGA RALLY PAGE 6 

Satum Racing Game by AM3 Tean 

Currant Please, £419.99 

This Month's cover game is followed up in gratuitous detail in true 
MAXIMUM style. The full range of hidden extras and secret modes is 
Tevealed, plus we take a return visit to the R&D labs of the CS conver= 
Sion team and quiz them about their final thoughts on the finished game 


MARVEL SUPER HEROES PAGE 14 
Arcade on Game by Capco 


Current 
Wust as X-Men: Children of the Atom is taking the Saturn market by 
Storm, Capcom unleash their latest coin-op masterpiece onto the 
feade scene. MAXIMUM provides ultimate detailage on this utterly 
Spectacular game. If you thought X-Men or Street Fighter Alpha was 
900d, you ain't seen nothing, 


FIRESTORM: THUNDERHAWK 2 PAGE 28 

PlayStation/Satum 3D Shooting Game by Core Design 

Current Release, £49.99 

Every so often it's a pleasure to see an English software house pro- 
GUcing quality goods - and such is the case with Core Design and their 
@xcellent Thunderhawk 2 game. MAXIMUM investigates. 


DOOM PAGE 34 

PlayStation 30 Shooting Game by GT Software 

Gurent Release, £44.99 

We thought we'd covered everything possible in our five-page Doom 
Teatuire in MAXIMUM issue #2. We were wrong. We have since dis- 
Govered that the only real way to play the game is in two-player link-up 
Mode! Full details on the Cooperative and Deathmatch modes plus rec- 
Ommended play is revealed 


WIATUA COP PAGE 38 

Sal BD Shooting Game by Sega/AM2 

Gumront Release, £44.99/£59.99 (with gun) 

When AM2 release a new Saturn game, the world sits up and takes 
notice, I may not have the profile of Virtua Fighter 2, but there Us 
absolutely no doubt that Virtua Cop is a most significant contribution to 
Sega Sali Gaming. And we defy anyone to beat our ranking score 
(pictured in the feature) 


SAMURAI SHODOWN 3 PAGE 48 

Neo Geo Fighting Action Game by SNK 

Current Release, £50.99) 

Currently taking the afeades by storm is the latest SNK Samurai 
Shodown fighting game, And now it's out on Neo Geo CD as well, MAX- 
IMUM provides gargantuan levels of information for your perusal 


X-MEN: CHILDREN OF THE ATOM PAGE 64 

Satu Fighting Action Game by Capcom 

February Release, Price Unconfinmed 

As promised in MAXIMUM issi@ #2, the balance of the X-Men cover- 
age. Storm, Psylocke, Sentinel and Spiral are revealed, along with the 
game's bosses. Here you'll also find both methods for revealing the 
game's hidden character, Akuma. ANd tum to page 113 NOW for the 
much-coveted Juggernaut boss code. 


04 MAXIMUM + THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


MUM 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


ISSUE 3 


VIRTUA FIGHTER 2 PAGE 172 
Saft 30 Fighting Action Game by Sega/AM2 
Current Release, Price £49. 

In another MAXIMUM follow-up, we return to Sega's awesome Virtua 
Fighter 2, going in-depth on the characters we missed out last month 
4S well as examining the play mechanics of the title and examining ver- 
sion 2.1. Here's a bonus tidbit of info; on Jacky’s stage have both play- 
ers press A, B, C, X, Y and Z 


TEKKEN 2 PAGE 88 
Arcade 3D Fighting Action Game By Namco 
Current Release 


The extreme levels of Tekken 2 information continue apace in this - what 
is probably the last Tekken 2 feature we produce until the PlayStation 
version appears sometime in the next few of months. Look here for 
complete details on Bruce, Yoshimitsu, Paul, Law and Jun. Plus, we go 
in-depth on the new Version B Tekken 2 upgrade 


RETURN FIRE: MAPS 0° DEATH PAGE 60 

300 Shooting Game by Silent Software 

Current Release, Price Unconfirmed 

Here's a turn-up - a 300 game deemed worthy enough for the MAXI- 
MUM close-up treatment. True, it’s only a new set of levels for Return 
Fire - so this is something of a mini-feature, weighing in at a light three 
pages of catch-up coverage. 


MAXIMUM REGULARS 


NEW GAMES... PLACES... EVENTS... PAGE 100 
For the ultimate in news coverage, look no further than MAXIMUM's 
enormous 37 page section, packed with more consoles knowledge than 
you'd ever dream possible, Ultra 64 gets its Japanese debut! Toshinden 
2 and Street Fighter Alpha arrive on PlayStation! In-depth interviews 
with Capcom and Namco R&D! Guardian Heroes on Saturn is stunning! 
EXCLUSIVE play as Juggernaut X-Men Stop Press code! Let there be no 
doubt about our news-gathering skills. 


REVIEWS PAGE 139 

The current crop of Saturn, PlayStation, 300, Neo Geo and PC gam 
explored in our Buyers Guide - written by experts for people who value 
their money. From the looks of it this month, it appears that Saturn 
owners have got the most reason to spend huge amounts of money on 
quality software. 


Prepare to burn rubber in the ultimate 
Saturn driving experience! 


GA RALLY - AM3’s awesome arcade racer 
_» Is superlative on Sega Saturn! 


7 Itimate i in rallying realism is finally available in the UK! sg 
* THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE Y—- = - 


Hane ric 4 
‘Oe B® 


a0 


James Spann, i ws - — r 
Ryoichi Hasegawa r ] f wheat eo 


Test ive the g greatest racing machines 
from rally constructors Fiat and Toyota! 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE * MAXIMUM OF 


SEGA RALLY HAS ARRIVED - ENHANCED FOR THE UK MARKET! 


By now, just about everyone should have 

savoured the choice Saturn games fodder “ 
that is AM3's conversion of the phenomenal 
Sega Rally coin-op. Boasting superlative 30 
frames per second action and an uncanny 
simulated feel to the driving action, there's 
absolutely no doubt that this is one of the 
premiere Saturn driving experiences, which 
is fully reviewed in our Sega criticism section 
beginning on page 140. 

The development of the Saturn conversion 
began shortly after the arrival of Daytona 
USA on the shelves of Japanese shops in 
April. Tetsuya Mizuguchi, the AM3 team 
leader responsible for the coin-op, began 
collaboration with Sega's own CS 
(Consumer Software) team in bringing the 
arcade machine over to the Saturn. It was 
around this time that AM2 first revealed their 
SGL 3D software, which promised to revolu- 
tionise Saturn 3D. Although arriving in plenty of time for the then forthcoming 
conversions of Virtua Fighter 2 and Cop, it was not made available to the CS 
team until their own 3D routines were complete. Considering that many 
viewed Rally's 3D as being the best ever seen on Saturn (just on the evidence 
of the pre-release alpha edition), this is testament to the skills of the CS con- 
version team. 

However, the proof the pudding is in the gameplay (as it were) and once 
again, the CS team have come up trumps with a near-perfect translation of 
the arcade original. As usual, whenever MAXIMUM judges an arcade con- 
version, we return to the coin-op and perform a side-by-side analysis and 
despite a much lower graphical resolution, the CS team have performed mir- 
acles in converting across the handling of each car to the Saturn - even with- 
Uy hen seas ce he funny Outthe presence ofa steering wheel with realistic feedback. 

41 30 frames a second (25 on the Uk version) Sega This Rally feature contains just about every hidden facet of Sega Rally. The 

Rally Championship shows tha! the Satuin can more Hidden track triggers are revealed along with a big feature on the secret car: 

than fois ole fr the aD avira the Lancia Stratos. Continuing the unparalleled Rally coverage, MAXIMUM 
takes a return visit to the CS conversion team’s headquarters at Sega of 
Japan where we quiz them about their thoughts on the final game. 


PAL RALLY IS BETTER THAN USA IMPORT! 

It's not very often that MAXIMUM can honestly say that a PAL version of a 
game surpasses its NTSC incarnation. However, we are quite justified in say- 
ing that this is the case with the official UK Sega Rally 
- and therein lies a story... 

You see, the version of the game released first was 
the US game, which was rush-released to meet the 
Christmas market. In actual fact, although there's 
nothing actually wrong with it as such, the game isn't 
finished. Any one who compares the Japanese ver- 
sion (released about a month later) to the US game 
will notice many differences which serve to make it 
significantly superior. MAXIMUM can reveal that the 
PAL version is based on the latter Japanese version 
rather than the US game. 

‘So what are the differences? To be honest, when list- 
ing them down in type, it doesn't really seem to make 
that much of a difference. The sky graphics on one 
stage have been improved, and some big changes 
have been made to the front-end of the game, offer- 
ing more options than seen on the older version. The 
‘one graphically ropey part of the game - the hairpin 
turn on the forest course - has also received a face- 
lift, with a scaling mountain backdrop appearing 
behind the polygons, which tidies up this part of the 
game significantly. We were a tad disheartened to 
hear that the hilarious “game over - yeah!” lyric on the 
game over music has been removed, but you can't [i 
really complain. a 
So PAL Rally is better than the US game, but how [i 
does it compare to the Japanese version? Sega 
promised a full-screen, full-speed version and they see for yourse - The UK version (op) has a rather 
have certainly delivered. Although the frame rate is jovely scaled mountain to look at as you take the 
slightly slower (as in Cop and VF2), the game's speed —halr-pin tum, whereas the US version looks a bit 
has been adjusted to compensate and the result is a more bare. I's clear that the CS conversion team 
game that is nigh-on identical to the Japanese origi- _I80 took @ bit more time with the UK option (third 
nal. It's another feather in the cap for Sega, who have —_ Picture down) - extra options are available when 
so far delivered near-perfect PAL conversions of all ™P2#@d 10 the USA import version (bottom). 
their latest hot games. 


The Saturn's 3D capabilities are put to work on cre: 


08 MAXIMUM »* THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


a EXTENDED PLAY 


+! ‘Os =U Sh LANCIA STRATOS REVEALED AS SEGA RALLY BONUS SPORTSCAR! 
As just about everyone knows by now, there is a hidden "bonus" car secret- 
ed in Sega Rally, which is instantly accessible when you complete the Super 
Advanced Lakeside track in first position (see the attached box for full details 
on every Way to add this car to the roster of Celica and Delta) 
The Stratos is one of the most famous cars in rallying history, hailing from a 
past time when rallying conditions were far removed from what they are 
today. The most surprising aspect of its origin is the time frame in which it first 
appeared. Despite its mid-eighties Japanese sportscar-styled appearance, 
the car actually debuted in the San Remo Rally in 1974 - bear in mind that at 
this point, its nearest competitor was a suped-up edition of the model two 
Ford Escort. 
The Lancia Stratos features a mid-mounted engine lifted from a Ferrari Dino 
sportscar, offering 2.4 litres of transversely mounted V6 power, all fitted inside 
a revolutionary fibre-glass shell (which was astoundingly light for its time) 
With a power level rated at around 250 brake-horsepower, the Stratos was in 
the same league overall as its competitors of the time, although its superior 
engine gave it superior power at lower revs. A rally car needs to be both 


The Sega Rally rendition of the Stratos has a great 

high in terms of mid-range torque 
in technology make 
to drive 


resilient and adaptable to the myriad conditions offered 
in racing, and the Stratos performed well in the Safari 
rallies but the car was really at home on a tarmac sur- 
face (just as well as the Lancia team's home rally - the 
Monte - was predominantly tarmac). 

The track record of the Stratos was remarkable, with 
the car virtually winning every major race between 1974 and 1976. After this period, the car was virtually disowned by 
Fiat, although it was still winning races as late as 1981. A superior Stratos was developed by Lancia (which pundits 
reckon could easily have won everything), but due to political reasons the car was dropped. Lancia’s owner, Fiat, had 
its own designs about winning the world championship with their own new car and it was easy for them to stop fur- 
ther development on the Stratos, which was subsequently phased out. 


THE SEGA RALLY STRATOS 
So how does the Stratos compare to the Delta and Celica in Sega Rally - and how close is it in performance to the 
real thing? 

The big difference between the cars is the fact that the Stratos is rear-wheel drive only, which makes for a totally 
different driving experience to the four-wheel drive capabilities of the Delta and Celica. When it comes to taking cor- 
ners, you'll find that the Stratos’ rear wheels tend to skid around that much further. This is pretty much close to the 
real Stratos - its handling was one of the problems associated with the car, although some drivers learned to use it to Once the Stratos trigger has been act 


ted, the car 


their advantage. is available to use in any of the gam (see 
The real bone of contention about the Saturn Stratos has to be its overall performance, which has atop speed of "Ne ex! page for ful detalls). In two-player mode, i 
around 155 mph - faster than the Delta or Celica by quite some margin. Can a 20-year-old sportscar really outperform = Kee 4 rites fe ire, pede 


the best that today's machines have to offer? Evening things out, the Stratos’ performance at low to medium revs IS on. enough speed to overtake the supercar, sul 
poor in relation to the other cars in Sega Rally. This means that on courses with many sudden turns (Lakeside springs ng in some incredibly fast races 
to mind), the Stratos is disadvantaged. Surface is also important. Just like the real thing, the Saturn rendition of the 
Stratos favours tarmac, making the Mountain course a 
good place to take it out for a spin. 

Overall, the Stratos is a very fast car, but only people 
who can successfully get to grips with its difficult han- 
dling are likely to break any records with it.. 


Aithough an older rallying car, the Stratos is something ofa legend that's obvi- 
ously sil remembered in the present day. The CS team's rendition of the ca is 
pretty spot-on, complete with the official Lancia colourisation and sponsorship. 
The Stratos is very popular in Japan, as readers of the last edition’s CS team 
interview will probably remember. 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE * MAXIMUM 09 


ACCESSING STRATOS 

There are two different ways to add the 
Stratos to the roster of vehicles found in 
Sega Rally Championship. Everyone knows 
the difficult way - here, MAXIMUM reveals all 
the different Stratos permutations. It should 
be noted that once you have activated either 
cheat, it is added to your Sega Rally save 
position, along with all of your best times. 


1. Come First on Lakeside 
To be honest, although initially quite difficult, 
this is the only real way to activate the Stratos 
trigger. With either the Delta or Celica, you 
need to come first on the Lakeside track. The 
Stratos is then available for use. On the 
Desert course, you need tenth position or 
better. For the Forest track, finish in fourth or 
better and of course, you need first position 
on the Mountain track before defending your 


title on the advanced Lakeside track! A condition for success is the difficulty 
level: the Stratos is only added if the game is set on NORMAL difficulty of 
harder, However, both one and three lap championship matches are valid. 


2. The Button-Press Cheat 

Only to be used if you accidentally wiped your Rally save position! On the 
mode select screen (where you choose Arcade, Time Attack etc) press X, Y, 
Z, Y, X. Instant Stratos action is yours. 


Every Stratos mode revealed - Cheesy button-press cheat included! 


STRATOS IN ARCADE MODE 

Once the Stratos trigger has been initiated, 
you'll see that the car is instantly added to 
the two-player mode and time attack game 
modes. However, it's a simple matter to find 
the Stratos when playing in the Arcade 
modes of Championship or Practice. On the 
car select screen, simply press left a few 
times to uncover the automatic Stratos. The 
manual beast is found in a similar manner, 
although this time press right a few times to 
reveal it. 


SUPER-ADVANCED COURSE: LAKESIDE 
This is yet another “open” secret that just 
about everyone is aware of - the existence of 
the super-advanced “hidden” track: 
Lakeside. You get the opportunity to race on 
this track on reaching first position by the 
end of the Mountain course. However, you 


can only add it to your time attack and two-player races by completing the track in the allotted 
time. You don't need to be first. Indeed, you probably won't be first. What you need to do is real- 
ly practise the course on the Time Attack before returning to the Championship. The key to suc- 
cess is to master the early turns specifically - then victory is undoubtedly yours. Once either 
Lakeside trigger has been activated, the Lakeside times are added to the record screens and 


you can also hear the Lakeside music on the sound 
test. 


1. Super Cheese Lakeside Button-Press Cheat 
Again, MAXIMUM only recommends using this cheat if 
you have accidentally wiped your Rally saved position 
on the Saturn's back-up memory. On the mode select 
screen (with Arcade, Time Attack etc), hold down X and 
Y together. That's it. It really is as simple as that. As with 
the other Lakeside trigger, once this has been activated, 
the new track is automatically added to your saved posi- 
tion. 


2. Lakeside Activated in Arcade Mode 

Once the Lakeside trigger is active, the course can be 
accessed on the Arcade mode's practise section. Just 
press right on the Mountain course to reveal the 
Lakeside addition to the track select screen 


The Lakeside trigger also enables you to access the level 
music in the sound test - as the rather useful picture to the 
right reveals. Alternatively, just play the disc in your CD player, 


10 MAXIMUM » THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


Keep on pressing either right or left on this screen to 
gain either the manual or the automatic Stratos in 
Arcade mode. It works on either Championship or 
practice modes. 


Options 
souno MODE ™ 


aT Ore 


Once the Lakeside trigger 
has been activated, it's 
possible to race on it in 
ever conceivable mode ~ 
arcade (above), two- 
player, ime attack... You 
name it. For a real chal 
lenge, race Lakeside with 
the Stratos! 


EXTENDED PLAY 


RALLY EXTRAS! The final trio of tricks 


including Hyper Cars and Mirror Mode! 


The final set of tricks for Sega Rally is a mixture of the subtle and the dramatic. 
The camera zoom cheat offers very little entertainment, whilst the other two are 
totally excellent, boosting your enjoyment of Sega Rally to near stratospheric 
levels. Read on. 


HYPER CAR FOR ULTIMATE SPEED! 

This secret mode was designed to take the Sega 
Rally's engine to its limits in terms of speed and 
playability, Without compromising the feel of the 
title, the speed of the entire game is increased giv- 
ing the appearance of higher top speeds and better 
grip. There is no visual indication that the cheat has 
taken effect and to be honest, you can't really see 
the difference unless you are using the internal 
viewpoint. 

Activated by holding down X while you select your 
car, the Hyper Car mode is excellent fun, Combined 
with the high-speed excesses of the Stratos, it's 
quite entertaining, but you do notice the difference 
in handling on the Delta and Celica. 

Since the balance of the game has been altered sig- 
nificantly, a new records screen for Hyper Car best 
times appears, logging your achievements sepa- 
rately to normal game activities. 


Check out these hidden modes and get the most out of Sega Rally! 


BOOST RALLY LONGEVITY FURTHER WITH MIRROR MODE! 
This is perhaps the most dramatic hidden feature in Sega Rally, allowing 
you to play mirrored versions of each of the four tracks. Everything about 
each of the tracks is totally reversed. Not just the corners and the posi- 
tioning of the scenery - even the texture-maps themselves are mirrored. 
Just like the Hyper Car feature, the mirror mode is easily activated. On 
the select game screen (where you choose either Practise or 
Championship options), simply hold down Y when you make your selec- 
tion 


ENHANCE YOUR REPLAY ACTION WITH CAMERA ZOOMING! 
When you complete the Lakeside track in first position, you are treated 
to an excellent replay of your race viewed from a variety of camera 
angles, It's possible to affect the zoom of the camera by using the fol- 
lowing button combination. Hold down Z and down together, and effect 
the zoom by using either the L or R buttons, depending on whether you 
wish to zoom in or out. And it works on any normal replay too! Smart. 


Because you activate the 
hidden modes on differ. 
ent screens, itis possible 
to combine all of the 
cheats together. F 
example, you can 
the Stratos in Hyper Car 
mode with a mirrored 
course! Not bad. 


In the mirror mode you can 
has been reversed, it means that the fr 
every 30 object is mirored and that al of the texture 
maps have now been totally reve hence the 
rather original way of depicting the word “Finish 
above. The mirror mode ads a gre 
ty to Sega Rally Championship - 
(game that the CS team are justifia 
the interview on the next page). 


thatthe enti 


3} of longevi 


e rather unusual and dramatic screen 
he zoom in replay mode. A small, but 
ing hidden mode 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE + MAXIMUM 11 


| EXTENDED P 


“Sega Rally is based on physical calculations and all the 
results of these calculations are on-screen.” 


ae 


MAXIMUM return visit to AM3 headquarters! 
CS Team talk about the SEGA RALLY secrets and the Stratos! 


With an import copy or two of 
Sega Rally in the possession of the 
MAXIMUM team, we arranged an 
interview with the key members of 
the CS team to discuss their closing 
thoughts on Sega Rally now that the 
project has finally reached a conclu- 
sion. Ryuichi Hattori (senior pro- 
grammer), Atsuhiko Nakamura (pro- 
ject director), Hiroto Kikuchi (team 
manager) and Ryoihi Hasegawa of 
the CS Team were present to share 
their insights with MAXIMUM. 


MAXIMUM What are your thoughts 
‘on the completed Sega Rally con- 
version? 


Mr Hattori The details of the graph- 
ics and the sound of the cars are 
there and | think that on the whole 
I'm quite happy with them. 


MAXIMUM What are you particularly 
pleased with? 
Mr Hattori The movement of the 
cars now approaches that of the 
arcade game, which I'm very 
pleased about 


MAXIMUM Which part of the con- 
version process particularly con- 
cerned you? 

Mr Hattori Everything! No, probably 
the movement of the cars. Then 


12 MAXIMUM « THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


there were the graphics; with our 
reputation they had to be excellent. 
We wanted to use a lot of polygons, 
but then the frame rate would have 
lessened so we had to think about 
the balance 

Mr Nakamura This level of quality in 
the graphics and movement was not 
really possible without Saturn's 30 
frames per second processing. | 
think we attained the highest level 
we anticipated before starting on the 
project 

Mr Hattori Of course, it's also a 
question of timing. The consumers 
want to have access to the conver- 
sion as soon as possible. 


MAXIMUM We have the impres- 
sions that it was made in quite a 
short time, 

Mr Hattori Yes, that's about right. 


MAXIMUM Why was the split-screen 
two-player mode decided upon? 
Why not a link-up facility? 

Mr Hattori It was a question of 
scheduling 

Mr Nakamura We didn't feel there 
would be a suitable cable available 
for the software by the time of the 
launch. Also, we felt that there would 
not be many users able to link up 
two machines, so the two-player 
mode was made more user-friendly. 
This is something of a complicated 
question. 

Mr Hattori Speed was an issue. We 
wanted to release it before the end 
of the year. If we'd had until March 


1996, maybe we could have pro- 
duced a suitable cable. Technically, 
it isn't that difficult. 


MAXIMUM Did you take any com- 
ments from consumers when devel- 
oping Sega Rally? 

Mr Hattori We always consider them 
carefully, but in practise they always 
seem to arrive too late for us to act 
on. Our team has done racing 
games before, so to a fair degree we 
already know our work, but every 
year we're always being told what to 
do! | think that we have managed to 
fulfil most of the consumers’ require- 
ments. 


MAXIMUM Was the plan to convert 
Sega Rally forced upon you? 

(Much laughter breaks out at this 
point] 

Mr Hattori It was right to do the con- 
version. It wasn't that difficult. 

Mr Nakamura They mean technical- 
ly, not strategically. 

Mr Hattori Oh yes, that was forced 
on us, because it’s not just anyone 
who could have done it. To be hon- 
est, | think that if someone else had 
tried it, | don't think it would have 
been done. There are probably only 
about 12 people in the world who 
could have done it. 


MAXIMUM Going back to the begin- 
nings of Sega Rally, why were the 
Celica and Delta chosen? 

Mr Kikuchi Well, there were many 
factors. We felt that in the rally, we 


be TOTRCIME 
3732702 


Lp ibe 


had to use real rally cars and the 
chosen vehicles were well known 
and looked good. Although there 
were a number of candidates, these 
were really the only ones and we felt 
that we had to choose them. 


MAXIMUM Did you ever consider 
any other rally cars? 

Mr Hattori Originally there was talk 
of using another car from Toyota, but 
we couldn't find a good one. For 
example, the Supra would have 
been just the same as the Celica and 
not much fun to use in the game, so 
we ended up with just the one. We 
also took note of the consumers’ 
opinions, which confirmed that if 
another car was to be added it 
should be the Stratos. 


MAXIMUM How does driving the 
Stratos differ to the other cars? 


Mr Hattori What can | say? Of 
course their performance is differ 
ent. The Celica is four-wheel drive, 
whilst the Stratos is just rear-wheel 
drive, so it's more difficult. The 
engine power is improved and that 
is the maximum speed. The steering 
is quicker, Overall, the Stratos is a 
lot more difficult to handle. However, 
with practise, the Celica can be dri- 
ven faster than the other car - the 
Lancia Delta. 


MAXIMUM What are the good and 
bad points of the Stratos? 

Mr Hattori The good point is its 
speed - it travels well at high speeds 
The bad news is that it is very diffi- 
cult to drive - you have to be quite an 
advanced driver to handle it well. If 
you just started off with it [as a 
novice player], you probably would- 
n't even be able to drive straight. 


direction we have taken with sega R 
ent and you simply can’t compare 


MAXIMUM How does Sega Rally 
improve the Saturn's profile? At the 
moment Saturn and PlayStation are 
fighting for market share and there'll 
be new racing games on the Sony 
machine. What does Rally do for 
Satum that these games don't do for 
PlayStation? 

Mr Hattori Sega Rally isn't inferior in 
any way - it has the two-player 
mode, the ghost mode and it's a 
simulation, 

Mr Kikuchi But compared to Ridge 
Racer, the car movements aren't as 
smooth. Ridge Racer has a drift sys- 
tem in which the car appears to be 
on invisible rails. Our game is based 
on physical calculations and all the 
results of these calculations are on- 
screen - for example, the friction of 
the road or the shock absorbers 
And the game has a car edit feature. 
The results of all our mathematics 
are reflected in the game itself. 
Basically, the direction we have 
taken with our game is completely 
different and you can't simply com- 
pare it to other games. 


MAXIMUM What reaction have you 
received from the press? 

Mr Kikuchi When we did the first 
alpha promotion, the media were 
‘extremely impressed with the quali- 
ty, but we were able to upgrade this 
quality still further in the final version. 
The reaction we received was that 
everybody's expectations were 
exceeded 


MAXIMUM What is the next project 
for the CS team? 
Mr Nakamura It's not yet decided 


MAXIMUM What about Manx TT? 
Mr Hattori This is Mr Mizuguchi's 


AMS team title... and there's not yet 
been talk of converting it to Saturn. 


MAXIMUM What games would you 
like to program? 

Mr Hattori There are many things | 
want to make - for example, puzzle 
games. But since we've just finished 
Sega Rally we have no clear idea 
what we're going to be doing next. | 
just want to make games that please 
everyone... Of course, we have our 
own personal opinions. Speaking in 
abstract terms, I'd like to make some 
serious games - not just games for 
fun - games which don't just end 
when you're clear, but which you 
can go back to and spend many 
hours on, Or alternatively, games 
which just take a very long time to 
complete. 


MAXIMUM Now you've pro- 
grammed Sega Rally, you must be 
pretty aware of Saturn's strong and 
weak points. Would this affect the 
choice of your next project? 

Mr Hattori | can't say that the weak 
points fof the Saturn] have ever 
stopped us from doing what we 
wanted to do, We would try any- 
thing. 

MAXIMUM Any final comments 
about the Rally project? 

Mr Hattori We feel the game has 
great longevity. You can play it for 
hours and the more you play it, the 
more you'll find. We want players to 
play it for as long as possible 


MAXIMUM Many thanks. 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE * MAXIMUM 13 


MARVEL SUPER HEROES - Experience 


the most explosive battles of all time!! 
MARVEL SUPER-BEINGS BATTLE WITH REALITY AT STAKE! 


When Capcom release a new fighting coin-op, the legions of arcade gamers across the 
world tend to take notice - since the arrival of Street Fighter Il in 1991, no one has been able 
Sk EER SG to match Capcom's consistent excellence in the field of combat games. This tradition contin. 
ues with the arrival of the latest Capcom title - Marvel Super Heroes 
In many ways, the game is a sequel to the incredibly popular X-Men: Children of the Atom 
- a title that has been successfully converted on Sega Saturn. It features four characters from 
the first game, who by and large, are unchanged from their debut appearances in X-Men 
However, the game is a lot more than just a mere update, featuring appearances from some 
of the mightiest characters in all of the Marvel Universe. Yes, for the first time, characters such s, Spidey wouldn't really lat 
as the Hulk and Spider-Man appear in a videogame and actually depicts them pretty well - very long against the 
quite remarkable when you consider the god awful Marvel translations we've had to put up 
with in the past. 


ENTER THE INFINITY WAR! 

This particular excursion into the Marvel Universe is backed up with a storyline from the 
comics themselves - in this case, the Infinity War series of crossovers perpetrated by Marvel 
a few years ago. For those of you not “into” the comics, it doesn't really matter since the actu- 
al storyline bears little actual resemblance to the game. 

However, for the record, a mighty force for evil - Thanos of Titan - has a taste for ultimate 
power. After several skirmishes with the Universe's mightiest heroes, he obtains the Infinity 
Gauntlet, which draws its powers from five differ- 
ent Infinity Gems. In the comics, this involved just 
about all of the Marvel heroes ganging up and 
fighting him... and losing. In the end, Thanos's 
subconscious feeling of unworthiness caused him 
to lose the Gauntlet and all was well (until the fol- 
lowing year's money-spinning crossover that is, 
when once again the universe was threatened by 
some celestial Armageddon). In the arcade game, 
just about all that remains of these Infinity story- 
lines is: Thanos, the gems, and um, that’s about it. 


THE INFINITY GEMS 

One of the most notable additions to the X-Men for- 
mula is the inclusion of the Infinity Gems. In the 
comics, these give the bearer power over all reali- 
ty. In Marvel Super Heroes, they tend to have vari- 
ous power-up effects. The gems usually appear 
when a good combination hits home and are col- 
lected simply by walking over them. Once you 
have a collection of gems in your possession, use 


The master of science and sorcery awaits. 


bocToR boom 


“Doom is supreme! There is no power on Earth to equal to mine!” 


Doctor Doom is without doubt one of the most powerful forces on Earth, and on many 
occasions he has sought to gain power of galactic proportions. Previous credits include steal- 
ing the Power Cosmic from the Silver Surfer and even enjoying a stint of omnipotence when 
he stole the power of the mysterious Beyonder. 

Hiding his scarred face behind his armour, Doom is a master of both science and sorcery, 
making him the most evil, powerful supervillain on the face of the Earth. Although he has 
teamed himself with the heroes against Thanos, it's pretty obvious that at the first opportuni- 
ty, he will attempt to appropriate the 
power of the Infinity Gems. in Victor Von Doom 

Doom's appearance masks a physical- —docior js 
ly strong opponent. Although designed to 
instill fear, his armour is a lot more power- 
ful than Iron Man's, crammed with high- 
tech devices such as lasers and molecu- 
lar expanders (which explains why rocks 
might appear out of nowhere and crush 
you). A daunting opponent. 


ds to 
of Doom! 


14 MAXIMUM * THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


EXTENDED PLAY 


COMIC STRIP STARS RETURN 
AC |manver surcr HeRoes 


the START button to choose between them. Invoke a par- 
ticular gem with quarter-circle from down to back along 
with all three punch buttons. A meter appears at the base 
of the screen which steadily decreases. During this time, 
the gem’s particular effect takes hold (see below for the 
basic list). Additionally, each character has a special gem 
which grants them dramatic power. The details of these 
are all found with the respected character later on in the 
Extended Play. 

If this addition to the X-Men formula is not to your liking, 
it can be disabled in two-player games. Both players 
should should hold down START at the beginning of each 
match (when the game says “Round one! Fight!". Signifying that the change has taken place 
is the message NO GEMS at the bottom of the screen. 


ENTER... THE INFINITY COUNTER! 

One of the more subtle, yet successful additions made to Capcom's last fighting game, Street 
Fighter Alpha, was the Alpha counter, which turns an opponent's attack against them. The 
same concept has made its way into Marvel Super Heroes. In fact, it's identical, with only the 
name having changed - in this game, the move {s now called an Infinity Counter. Perform a 
quarter circle move with the joystick from back to down along with a punch button to initiate 
the counter. This works well on opponents using a charging special move (Captain America, 
the Hulk and Juggernaut foremost amongst them), but not on characters whose Infinity 
Attacks take them out of range quickly (such as Spider-Man's Maximum Spider strike). 

To be truly frank, these counter-attacks aren't so hot. As stated above, it’s not so great 
against more agile characters and it uses up precious 
FP PLAE infinity Energy, which you really should be using for 
: your own super-moves. 


1,REALITY 

Using this gem calsés-much Weirdness 
to happen - the 
ena involve 


shards appearing on 
creen which fall on the opponent, 


2. POWER 


Thi bly quite easy for Capcom 


mon phenom: 


THANOS OF TI TAN 


“Begone foolish miscreants - or suffer my celestial wrath!” 


Thanos Of Titan is in love with Death - the mysterious lady who guides all souls from this 
existence into oblivion. In order to become her consort, he has appropriated the Infinity 
Gems and attempts to win her affections by laying waste to the cosmos. With but a whim, 
he obliterates half of the sentient life in the universe, which causes the 
heroes to come after him. Lady Death is still not impressed, so 
Thanos attempts to impress her by using only some of the Infinity 
powers against his opponents, giving his foes a .05% chance of suc- 
cess. 

With near-omnipotence at his disposal, Thanos, the game's main 
boss, proves to be just as much of a pain in the ass as his prede- 
cessor - Children of the Atom's Magneto. Although his basic fighting 
style is pretty pathetic, it's in the power of the Infinity Gems that 
Thanos becomes problematic. A huge amount of different celestial 
attacks are at his disposal, and beating him with any of the heroes 
will be an incredibly difficult task. 


easy t0 figure out 
gem invokes a 
he effects of which are read 


ables the holder to po: 


ly has a lite 


5. SPACE 
In wat must 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE * MAXIMUM 15 


EXTENDED PLAY | 


BLACKHEART 


“I shall corrupt the very souls of all who oppose me!” 


This mysterious creature thrives on pure evil, and already has a consid- 
erable amount of power at his disposal, He is not a native to this dimension, 
being the only son of Mephisto (Marvel's closest stab at bringing Satan into 
the comics) and has the power to phase in and out of our existence 
Blackheart can also choose between physical and non-corporeal forms - in 
fact, his dash attack involves him turning to slime and slithering across the 
floor, making him look more suited to a DarkStalkers game rather than a 
Marvel inspired title. 

As you can see, he doesn't have much in the way of special moves. In 
fact, in terms of lever combination-orientated moves, he only has a paltry 
two at his disposal (disregarding his Infinity Attack). This is mainly because 
his basic attacks are completely out of the ordinary, mainly involving the 
creation of unspeakable creepy-crawlies that swarm around Blackheart's 
opponents, 

For X-Men veterans, Blackheart is probably closest to the Sentinel 
(mainly because they share outstanding basic attacks), but to be honest, 
he is something of a departure compared to other 
Capcom titles. It must be said that Blackheart was- 
n't really to the MAXIMUM team’s liking, but his 
weirdness factor alone makes him worth investiga- 
tion. He's also quite an unpredictable character. 


INFINITY GEM: REALITY 


reality for His own 


Blackheart tends to do a prett 
ends, but once he has the Real 


in his jon,he becomes 


MUTANT POWER: 
THUNDER 


ie Vec ple allow 


INFINITY ATTACK #1: ARMAGEDDON 


nity strike teors to rain down 


THE BLACK MAGIC OF BLACKHEART 
SPECIAL TECHNIQUES 
THUNDER Ese) + Any Punch 
[THUNDER SLAM Bisley) + Any Punch 
INFINITY POWERS : 
‘ARMAGEDDON Slale)) + All three Punch buttons 
HEART OF DARKNESS Sisley) + Al three Kick buttons 


16 MAXIMUM =» THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


SUPER POWER: 
STARS AND STRIPES 
5 the RYu-esque chara 
Heroes, Here's Cap’s ve 


orf the dragon punch 


CAPTAIN AMERICA 


Sentinel of Liberty! Living legend of the USA! 


Transformed from wimpy Steve Rogers into Captain America by a spe- 
cial serum designed during World War |, this,costumed soldier was instru- 
mental in taking down the Nazi menace in Marvel's version of world events 

However, he was frozen in ice for several decades before the Avengers 
defrosted him. 

Although physically, he is in peak-human shape, Captain America has no 
real super-powers at his command (he's about 20 times /ess powerful than 
Spider-Man). All he has is his military training and his sheer courage. His 
only weapon is his shield, made from an adapted, form of adamantium, 
which he throws with an unerring aim. He can control its trajectory thanks 
to modifications made by Iron Man. 

All manner of shield-slinging activities are available to Cap, thanks to the 
return of the Vector Theory from X-Men, meaning you can choose the 
direction that the shield is thrown 
Although other special moves (indi- 
cated) are available to Captain 
America, it's his potential for combi- 
nation attacks that makes him so 
powerful. For example, all of his 
kicks can be chained together into 
combos. 

Despite his apparent lack of 
super-powers, Captain America is 
one of the most easily accessible 
fighters in the game 


SUPER POWER: SHIELD SLASH 


Captain America’ the fireball - he 


ows his shield in thre 


depending on which 


Ths NEW WERO B= MEW HERO od 
eam 
. 


mere nrc 


ig?=_ MEW HERO 


INFINITY ATTACK: FINAL JUSTICE 


INFINITY GEM: POWER 


| THE SUPER POWERS OF CAPTAIN AMERICA 


| SPECIAL TECHNIQUES 


SHIELD SLASH 8 /)—) + Any Punch 

STARS AND STRIPES =) + Any Punch 

CHARGING STARS ee tae + Any Kick 
INFINITY POWER ; 
FINAL JUSTICE to" All three Punch buttons 


AME MAGAZINE * MAXIMUM 17 


See aaa POWER: 

RUSH 

Initiated with a Sonic wet ane ail ent, the 
Hulk uses his phenomenal 


INCREDIBLE HULK 


“Is he man? Is he monster? Or is he... both?” 


The Hulk is one of the Marvel characters whose origin is pretty well 
known. While trying to save an innocent teenager who had wandered into 
a nuclear test site, Bruce Banner was bombarded with rays from the explo- 
sion of a gamma bomb of his own creation. Over the years, the amount of 
methods used to change from Hulk to Banner has changed significantly. 

From mental control through time of the day to using special gamma ray 

machines, the Hulk has changed a lot sine his first story in 1961. These 

days, getting him angry turns him from Hulk to Banner (not the other way 

around) 

One thing that hasn't changed is the fact that without a doubt, the Hulk 
is the strongest mortal on the face of the Earth. In Marvel Super Heroes, 
his powers in this regard are without 
compare and in sheer bludgeoning 
strength, his only rival is the unstop- 
pable Juggernaut. Favourite moves 
include ripping up the ground and 
charging through his enemies. 


INFINITY GEM: TIME 
The Hulk is such a rampantly powerful creature that 


the only area where he can in 


peed - hence the speed-up being his 


RADIOACTIVE POWER; GAMMA THROW 
Tear the very floor apart then hurt it at your foeSwitsia|good 
long range attack. Also, two variants obthe move are present 


THE RADIOACTIVE POWERS OF THE HULK la nage 
SPECIAL TECHNIQUES ponte peel ies en 
GAMMA RUSH Hold 4a) then ‘= + any Kick mil y given direction! in this 
GAMMA RUSH Hold | then ) + any Kick ‘ wate 
GAMMA SWING bee Any Punch marae ieee eat 
GAMMA THROW ee bem + Any Punch i! the opponent is in 
INFINITY POWER 

GAMMA CRUSH 3a + All three Punch buttons 

INFINITY GAMMA THROW BS) + All three Punch buttons 


18 MAXIMUM * THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


EXTENDED PLAY 


IRON MAN 


He lives! He walks! He conquers! 


Tony Stark was forced to become tron Man. Pressed into cre- 
ating weapons for an enemy super-power, instead he created the 
very suit that enabled him to escape. His heart, close to stop- 
ping thanks to a bullet wound sustained before his capture, was 
saved, thanks to special transistorised technology, Over the 
years, Stark has refined and improved the Iron Man armour, 
making him the Marvel Super Hero who has changed his 
appearance the most often (in fact, in recent comics, Stark 
himself has been replaced by a younger version of himself 
from the past). The video game reflects the fact that all of 
Stark's power comes from the suit. In terms of raw strength, 
he's probably on about the same level as Spider-Man, but he 
benefits greatly. from. rocket-boots. and’ special repulsor 
beams built into the palms of his armour, Other weapons 
(excluding his frankly unbelievable Infinity Special) include 
laser beams that enable him to strike from a distance. 
Yes, it many ways, it’s pretty clear that Iron Man is the 
equivalent of Cyclops from X-Men: 
Children of the Atom (even his Super 
is pretty similar, it must be said). 
Combination attacks aren't really his 
speciality and instead he tends to. 
rely on “trick” moves and attacks 
courtesy of the armour, 


gl GBR SNE) HERD INFINITY ATTACK: 

ae PROTON CANNON 

” vo Iron Man's super attack is yet 
technological trick 
d into his suit. Looking 


very similar indeed to 
Cyclops optic blast 

from Children of tt 
this laser 
cussive force inflicts huge 


amounts of damage 


THE ROBOTIC POWERS OF IRON MAN 
SPECIAL TECHNIQUES 
UNI BEAM ee Baim + Any Punch 
REPULSOR BLASTER ms) Be) + Any Punch 
SMART BOMB Same strength Punch & Kick together 
FLYING Be) + All three Kick buttons 

ROBOTIC ATTACK: REPULSOR BLASTER INFINITY POWERS 
Lit PROTON CANNON Sisal) + All three Punch buttons 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE * MAXIMUM 19 


SPIDER-MAN 


“Marvel at the awesome might of... Spider-Man!” 


Out of all the heroes in the Marvel Universe, Spider-Man remains perhaps the 
most under-rated. This is probably because he isn't the strongest fighter around, 
and neither is he the cleverest. However, due to the unique nature of his powers 


combined with his inventiveness, he is in many ways the most effective. 


The combination of Spidey's speed and strength is what keeps him alive. His 
fighting style is totally different to anything you'd have seen before. He knows no 
specific martial arts, but instead relies on moves based around his dazzling speed 


and dexterity, as well as warnings from his Spider-Sense. 


In the game, Spidey's nimble nature has been perfectly reproduced, and of all 
the characters, he is best suited to combination moves based around his basic 
fighting attacks. His webbing is used to either slow down the opposition and throw 
them about, and it’s also useful for web-swinging into his foes or out of harm's way. 

Overall, Spider-Man's combination potential has made him the favourite player in 


Marvel Super Heroes’ first month in the arcades. 


INFINITY GEM: 
POWER 

Using the Power Infinity 
another 


screen, who mit 


your altack potential 


20 MAXIMUM » THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


ARACHNID POWER: WEB-SWING 


Fi 


ARACHNID POWER: WEB-BALL 

As well as shooting strands of webbing as strong as piano wire 
Spider-Man can alS0ire off concentrated liquid web-balls, which 
temporarily imprison his opponents, 


g off a web. 
ontally, tthe 


fe-Man swings across the level 
yonent is in the way, a hit 
into a combinatio 


INFINITY ATTACK: 
MAXIMUM SPIDER 


Using the full lick of superhuman 
speed at his disposal, Spidey flies 
the screen intlicting mult: 
hits on his opponents. At the 
it just before the move is 
you can choose the 
Spidey flies in, which 
ea of hits he 


THE ARACHNID POWERS OF SPIDER-MAN 


SPECIAL TECHNIQUES 


WEB-BALL 


¥/4)=9) + Any Punch 


SPIDER-STING =>) S)%) + Any Punch 
WEB-SWING Bee + Any Kick 

WEB-THROW me eee + Any Kick 
INFINITY POWERS 

MAXIMUM SPIDER S/\e9) + All three Punch buttons 


EXTENDED PLAY 


INFINITY POWER #1. BERSERKER BARRAGE X 

This should be extremely familiar to any one who has played X-Men: 

Atom. Unleashing his full adamantium rage, Wolverine 
jot knife through butter 


s foes like 


WOLVERINE eer 


Canada’s feral super hero with unstoppable adamantium rage! 


Wolverine was chosen as part of the Infinity Way taskforce, because like the Hulk 
he has a true killing spirit. Adam Warlock, the mysterious leader of the heroes knows 
that Wolverine’s lack of mercy could well be instrumental in delivering the killing 
blow to Thanos... should it become necessary. Extremely fast and agile, Wolverine's 
unbreakable adamantium claws form the basis of many of his special moves. 
Players of Wolverine from X-Men: Children of the Atom should be pretty much 


acquainted with his style of play. 
a ore J 


His incredible capability to 
chain moves together like 
nobody else remains, and a 
toned down version of his 
Berserker Barrage X-Attack 
actually makes an appearance 
as an “ordinary” special move. 

Unlike X-Men, Wolverine’s 
healing factor is constantly 
active - as it should be - giving 
him back half the energy any hit 
inflicts. That basically means 
that Wolverine only takes half- 
damage. 


WER 


ie st | 


Erle are 


1 fe opm 


INFINITY GEM: POWER 

TWis, gem gives Wolverine berserker speed, easily 
spotted by. the after-images of him which appear 
on-g6rebn: This used to be an X-Attack from the X- 
Men coin-op. 


INFINITY POWER #2. 
WEAPON X THE BERSERKER POWERS OF WOLVERINE 
An all-new attack forthe ferocious mutant, SPECIAL TECHNIQUES 
(in te ne ot DRILL CLAW Aim joystick + same Punch & Kick 
Ryu or Akuma from Super Street Fighter I 
Turbo) aodps unde ea atacand TORNADO CLAW eis) + Any Punch 
Ieaetxmassieioh ora BRESERKER BARRAGE S/S )m) + Any Punch 
X POWERS : 
BERSERKER BARRAGE X 3 /&)—) + All three Punch buttons 
WEAPON X =) 8%) + All three Punch buttons 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE * MAXIMUM 21 


INFINITY GEM: SPACE 


im to become 


_ EXTENDED PLAY | 


JUGGERNAUT 


“I need a real work out! Something worthy of my power!” 


Trapped in a collapsed ancient temple, Cain Marko seized the magical 
ruby of Cytorrak, which transformed him into a human juggernaut. Gaining a 
huge amount of extra muscle and stature, Marko gained 
superhuman strength second only to the Hulk, along with 
mystical powers which make him nigh-on impossible to 
defeat. Part of the enchantment is the Juggernaut's invulner- 
ability. Even nuclear weapons would stand little hope of stop- 
ping him in his tracks. However, when Juggernaut hears word 
of the universal power of the Infinity Gauntlet, he sets out to 
wrest the gems from Thanos to use for his own limited 
schemes. 

Of course, his powers have all been toned down slightly for 
the coin-op, otherwise Juggernaut would have a pretty easy 
time of it up until he meets Thanos. 
However, his strength can’t be 
underestimated and his SuperX 
attacks are hugely damaging. 

Juggernaut remains pretty much 
as he was in the XMen coin-op 
However, it was impossible to control 
him then and Marvel Super Heroes is 
the first time Juggernaut has ever 
been playable in a videogame! 


X-ATTACK: JUGGERNAUT HEADCRUSH 


Again, Juggernat remain very similar to X-Men Chitdren of the Atom, 
With the Hea ‘us invincible and charges through the opposition 


CYTORRAK POWER: 
JUGGERNAUT PUNCH 


Ash 


Ind ponderous move 


CYTORRAK POWER: EARTHQUAKE 


Striking the (round, Juggernaut causes a mini-seismic disturbance, which 
rips through the ground causing much damage to any one foo! enough not 
to jump over it 
| THE UNSTOPPABLE POWERS OF JUGGERNAUT 
SPECIAL TECHNIQUES 
EARTHQUAKE =) 8) + Any Punch 
JUGGERNAUT PUNCH ve) Sa) + Any Punch 
CYTORRAK POWER-UP. (=>) ¥\@) + All three Punch buttons 
INFINITY POWERS 
JUGGERNAUT HEADCRUSH S\ =) + All three Punch buttons 


22 MAXIMUM * THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


INFINITY GEM: SPACE 

This particular super-move blasts through anything 
indeed, in X-Men, it could take away half of your energy 
bar in seconds! Now Magneto is player-controlled, it 
powerful, but it's definitely one of 
awe-inspiring atta 


MAGNETO 


“The Infinity Gems will save mutantkind! They must be mine!” 


Magneto WAS undoubtedly the most powerful character in the X-Men: Children of the Atom 
coin-op, being one of the most rock-hard bosses ever devised (especially in the Saturn con- 
version). Marvel Super Heroes gives players their first chance to control him, and he returns 
almost as powerful as he was in the first Capcom/Marvel. game. 

Magneto realises that he is just one man and that isn't enough 
to make sure that mutantkind will prevail over ordinary homo 
sapiens. However, he realises that with the help of Infinity Gems, 
he will become almost god-like, leav- 
ing the entire population of the cos- Dy 
mos at his mercy! This is Capcom's 9 { 
explanation for Magneto's appear- ty 
ance here, as he wasn't in the actu- abd 
al comics series at all. 

With only minor changes, 
Capcom have carried Magneto 
over almost completely from his 
first. appearance in X-Men: 
Children of the Atom. With the 
sheer range of attacks at his dis- 
posal, he has to stand a fairly 
good chance to taking Thanos 
down. 


X-ATTACK #1: 
MAGNETIC SHOCKWAVE 
This particular super-mo 
anything ~ indeed, in X-Mer 
away half of your energy bar in seconds! 
Now Magneto is player-contrlied, i isn't 
$0 powerful, but it’s definitely one of the 
more powertul attacks. 


MAGNETIC POWER. 

EM DISRUPTOR 

A powertul burst of pure electromagnetic 
th from Magneto’s finger 
this can be fired through the magnet 
Sd, making it invaluable 


THE MAGNETIC POWERS OF MAGNETO 


A Wp SPECIAL TECHNIQUES 
X EM DISRUPTOR =e Bw + Any Punch 


XATTACK #2: HYPER GRAVITON Md em + Any Kick 
JAGNETIC TEMPEST MAGNETIC WAVE BA + Any Punch 
ji msl FLYING Bele) + All three Kick buttons 
X POWERS 
~ at MAGNETIC SHOCKWAVE Sai) + All three Punch buttons 
MAGNETIC TEMPEST Sale) + All three Kick buttons 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE * MAXIMUM 23 


DIMENSIONAL POWER: MYSTIC BOUNCE (amr warersrresrovy 2P= NEW HERO 
Having total control of your physical shape does have its ac ick, Shuma: hy 
Gorath turns into a bouncing spiked ball, which can of by surprise. P 


SHUMA-GORATH 


Alien being whose entire body is one living weapon! 


The Infinity War comic series tend to take established Marvel characters into the 
galactic territories usually reserved for the likes of Galactus, Quasar and the Silver Surfer. 
The inclusion of Shuma-Gorath (along with Blackheart) is clearly 
an attempt to introduce a more other-worldly atmosphere to 
the game. If you've never heard of him before, it's not sur- 
prising, as he is an arch-villain who occasionally crops up in 
Doctor Strange comics with the intent to conquer all reality. 

Shuma-Gorath is an alien being who has near-total contro! 
over his physical form. Composed mainly of pink skin and an 
enormous eye-ball, he can contort his body into any conceiv- 
able shape - he can punch or kick with his tentacles or 
expand a single appendage and pummel his foe with it. Soft 
or spiky, Shuma-Gorath can adopt any shape he desires, and 
so like Blackheart, even his basic attacks have a most spec- 
tacular feel to them. 

His special moves are even more bizarre. He can turn into a 
spiky ball and bounce around the play-area, or hecan unleash 
spiralling eye-balls of doom, which cause multiple hits on their 
‘own and chain extremely well. 

Like Blackheart, Shuma-Gorath is a most strange character 


— 
(his counterpart from X-Men would undoubtedly be Spiral) and 

although he's unlikely to win = 
any popularity contests, as a wie 


fighter he does have a lot going 
for him. 


INFINITY GEM: TIME 


Using the Infinity gem doesn’t tend to have 
much eft ons own, However. Shuma mg 
Gorath hits his foe, they freeze, giving him Ea 

‘one free hit on his prey. 


1P= MEW HERO oe P= 


Wis ey a 
“ fi. 
| 


THE DIMENSIONAL POWERS OF SHUMA-GORATH 

SPECIAL TECHNIQUES 

STARING SHOT Hold \4a) then (=| + any Punch 

MYSTIC BOUNCE Hold |¢a) then (mp) + any Kick 

GORATH GRAB > aw Bele + Any Punch 
INFINITY POWER: CHAOS DIMENSION 

INFINITY POWER Definitely one of the most lar in the game, Shuma-Gorath encapsulates h n enormous pink 

CHAOS DIMENSION Sales) + All three Punch butions spin, belo Sig Up in hea and reping opponent in a enay 9 shape that attacks from all 
sides. Extremely deadly 


(MAXIMUM « THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


EXTENDED PLAY | 


NINJA SKILL: PSI-FLASH 

The basic, psychic fireball manoeuvre for 
range attacks, Although seemingly slow. hi 
tial al close range. 


PSYLOCKE 


Powerful psychic powers and ninja-quick attacks! 


Due to her Japanese appearance (even though she’s actually 
English) and ninja-esque martial arts moves, Psylocke proved to be 
‘one of the most popular X-Men when the first Capcom/Marvel coins 
op appeared in Japan, so it's little surprise to see her returning for 
Marvel Super Heroes, despite the fact that her appearances in any of 
the Infinity War sagas have been little more than minor cameos, 

Again, any one who has played the X-Men: Children of the Atom 
coin-op will have little trouble getting to grips with Psylocke, as by and 
large, she’s pretty much identical to her previous appearance. She 
has a new teleportation special move (which is something she's never 
been able to do in the comics), but otherwise, she holds no surprises 
to any one who's played Children of the Atom 

Her strengths lie in speed and combination. Incredibly, she’s quick- 
er even than Spider-Man or Captain America, particularly in dashing 
attacks, and her psychic knife punch 
moves are excellent in scooping an 
opponent from the ground into the 
air, whereupon she can incur huge 
amounts of damage with air-combi- 
nation attacks. 


NINJA SKILL: PSI-BLADE SPIN 


in the combo arena and the 


INFINITY GEM: POWER 
In an attack similar to an X-Attack from the X-Men game, multiple 
es of Psylocke appear. All of them can hit the opponent, but only 


‘one of them can be hit 


THE NINJA SKILLS OF PSYLOCKE ‘ ett ae Het fa 
SPECIAL TECHNIQUES AS you might imagine, this remal 
PSI-BLADE SPIN Sa + Any Kick 
PSI-FLASH Se + Any Punch 

NINJITSU. wee me + Any button 

X POWER 

PSI-THRUST S)&)=) + All three Punch buttons 

STRANGE BUTTERFLY CLOAK Sele) + All three Kick buttons 

PSI-MAELSTROM S/S) + All three Kick buttons 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE * MAXIMUM 


oq 
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MS, ‘ _" < ; 
* 7 a. ; , gi > ; 
NOT 3 Bee A! ‘ 
Y he S 
GUARANTEED ae 
} ae 
T0 ; 


IMPRESS 


ALISON 


IMAGE 15 NOTHING 


Guaranteed 


THIRST 


The history of Firestorm: Thunderhawk 2 is well known to all Mega-CD owners as the version 
upon which this new game is based was, and still is, one of the best games for the machine. 
Unsurprisingly, there was a massive rush to purchase the game when it was released and it con- 
sequently was bought by 80 percent of all existing owners of the Mega-CD at that time. 
Although this Mega-CD game was the main inspiration for the new Saturn, PlayStation and PC 
CD-ROM versions it wasn't the first Thunderhawk game available. Quite a long time before this 
there were PC and Amiga games released by Core Design with the name “Thunderhawk”, though 
they were not the same game at all. This original was a plain polygon helicopter simulation with- 
out much action and by today's standards it looks decidedly feeble (although it was a huge hit at 
the time). In November 1993, however, the game was overhauled and nothing but the helicopter- 
based action and title survived the metamorphosis from home computer to “state-of-the-art” CD- 
based console as the Sega Mega-CD conversion was released. It had incredible graphics which 
were some of the first to use the new console's 3D sprite scaling hardware to create an incredi- 


FIRESTORM: THUNDERHAWK 2 
Shoot! Kill! Destroy all enemies! 


ae: 3 @ Core Design's debut Saturn product! 


The chain gun has a fair degr 


although 


long distance 


elfectiveness is cut 
large 


hort at very 


@ 25 frames a second death-dealing helicopter mayhem! 


bly realistic environment. As well as fantastic graphics and 
atmosphere, the game played as well as it looked. Though 
some complained about the limited and repetitive nature of the 
action, it had massive appeal as almost anyone could pick up 
the game and blast away, though the strategy side could only 
be exploited by serious playing 

The idea of recreating the incredible game on today’s most 
powerful machines was one of genius. The flat, unrealistic 
stages of the Mega-CD original could be improved massively by 
the addition of contours; the blocky sprite-based enemies could 
be made from polygons and extra views and a 3D cockpit could 
be added for maximum realism. And you know what? They've 
‘only gone and done it too. 


Witness the ALL-NEW rendered introduction sequence! 
THE INTRO SEQUENCE 


Upon powering up the game, a fantastic rendered introduction 
sequence plays, showing vector graphics of the Firestorm heli- 
copter and its weapons morphing into fully-detailed texture- 
mapped models. These then combine, making the complete 
helicopter which proceeds to smash through the grid back- 
ground. As it flies along a canyon, it locates two enemy vehicles 
on the radar and instantly locks onto them. Missiles are 
launched and, naturally, massive explosions follow, A fine exam- 
ple of full-motion video if ever there was one. 


ARMAMENT SELECTION SCREEN 

One of the major new features of Thunderhawk 2 over the origi- 
nal Thunderhawk is the armament selection screen. This appears before every mission 
and allows the pilot to select which three weapons should be taken to the next area. There 
are are three points on the chopper that can be armed and it takes careful consideration 
and planning to make the right choice of armaments. 


WEAPONS 

The AH-73M Thunderhawk can be fitted with a wide selection of powerful weapons which 
vary in terms of performance greatly. Each weapon has its own strengths and weakness- 
range, 8 Which are detailed here in MAXIMUM depth 

1. 30mm CHAIN-GUN - Unlimited supply of ammunition. 

The chain-gun is the standard weapon and can always be relied upon, even when all other 
ammo has been expended. Though the firing rate is relatively high, the damage caused 
is very low. The rapid-fire is also lost if the chopper takes too much flak. The chain-gun is 
almost useless against moving targets so it should be used when there is no other ammu- 
nition available, or to destroy non-offensive targets ~ like buildings and APCs, 


2. FFAR ROCKET POD - Maximum Capacity: 116 
These are fired two at a time, giving them a good chance of contact. They are fairly pow- 
erful and have a reasonably fast firing rate, making them a good choice of weapon for 


28 MAXIMUM »* THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


as 
=: 


Core Design's graphic artists have done 
ellent job in rendering the intro: 


quence, frames from which 
are shown above. 


; ones EXTENDED PLAY 


SATURN FEATURES REVEALED 
ss FIRESTORM: THUNDERHAWK 2 
RE NOW NUM PRICE £4499, 


ground-based targets. The rockets also move at a good speed, 
making it near-impossible for potential targets to escape from a 
good shot. 


3. AGM-214 FIRESTORM HOMING MISSILE 

- Maximum Capacity; 28 

A very valuable weapon, the homing missiles lock onto any large 
targets and hit with extreme force almost every time. The auto-tar- 
geting system takes a split-second to get a lock on the enemy, which can sometimes be 
slightly too long and the missiles can quite easily be out-run by any fast air-based vehi- 
cles. Even though there are problems, it is a wise idea to have at least a few of these mis- 4b pola 
siles on every mission 


3 4, RCS-233 RUNWAY CRATERING SYSTEM 

Janets - Maximum Capacity: 4 pods 
These are only used on missions which involve stopping enemy 
aircraft from being launched. A cluster of small bombs are 
released, making many small craters on runways, rendering them 
useless. Only four can be carried at once so they must be used 
wisely, as wasting the RCS results in a failed mission, 


5. MK-84 500/b “BIG BOY” BOMB - Maximum Capacity: 8 
The appropriately nicknamed “Big Boy” causes enormous 
amounts of damage to any ground-based targets within a large 
damage radius. The bomb also causes damage to the player's 
helicopter if released when too near to the ground, It therefore 
must be dropped from a great height, making it difficult to aim 
accurately. This is best used on primary target buildings and col- 
lections of tanks. 


6. MK-88 CLUSTER BOMB - Maximum Capacity: 20 
These are a combination of the MK-84 bomb and the RCS, as they 
are a collection of small bombs which are used mainly on ground- 
based enemy vehicles. Can be used on enemy instal- 

lations but they aren't as effective in this area as the 7 sermaneiw 
MK-84 bombs which have a much more concentrated 

damage radius. The MK-88s are spread across a large 
area, causing fair amounts of damage to everything 
nearby. 


7. MK-3 PENGUIN ANTI-SHIPPING MISSILE 

- Maximum Capacity: 8 

Best used during the aquatic campaigns in the Panama Canal and the South 
China Seas as they are designed for use against boats and ships. These mis- 
siles cause large amounts of damage and work in almost exactly the same way 
as the AGM-214 Firestorm Missiles. 


Use 21st century technology to annihiliate the enemy! 


pit below is initially very 
sive, although soon you'll be switch 
to the more conventional views 


COCKPIT INSTRUMENTS 

When flying the helicopter from the virtual cockpit, pilots will 
notice that the "dashboard" is full of instrumentation, as well 
as there being a loads of HUD information 


COMPASS 

This resides at the top of the screen and is very useful for 
keeping your bearings when involved in a fire fight. Primary 
targets are indicated on the compass as a red bar, making 
locating the most threatening enemies a lot easier. 


RDWD (RADAR DETECTION WARNING DISPLAY) 
When the word “LOCK” appears in yellow above the com- 
pass, the enemy is tracking your location. When the word 
changes to red, the enemy has got an exact lock on you and 
will launch a missile at any time. 


TARGETING SIGHT 


This shows exactly where your current weapon is aimed and 
also shows the chopper’s bearing as a second cross-hair. 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE * MAXIMUM 29 


PRIHARY 


The sea missions are some of the most 
taxing in the ThunderHawk campaigns 


MOomenn| 


Thundertiawk 2's 25 frames a second 
action is very smooth and most exciting 
indeed. Blast Kill 


This is useful when your 
pilot's head has been turned 
to one side and it is difficult 
to tell in which direction you 
are heading. The sight will 
also change for each 
weapon, pointing out any 
targets and showing exactly 
how long missiles will take to 
lock onto an enemy. 


WEAPON SELECTION 

The currently _ selected 
weapon is displayed just 
above the armour level indi- 
cator, The weapons can be switched though at any time and 
will revert to the Chain Gun when all other ammo has be 
used. 


ARMOUR LEVEL INDICATOR 
This coloured bar shows the level of armour integrity. When 
there is little danger, the bar is green and as it takes damage 
it goes through yellow to red. When the bar reaches zero, the 
helicopter crashes to the ground 


RADAR 

The panel in the centre of the cockpit shows all short-range 
threats. Ground-based enemies are shown as red dots, air- 
borne enemies are yellow dots and missiles are white dots. 


MAP DISPLAY 

The right-hand cockpit panel shows an overhead view of the 
mission zone and displays all ground objects. All primary 
targets are shown as coloured dots and the dotted white line 
indicates the perimeter of the current mission zone. If this line 
is crossed before all mission objectives are completed, it is 
classed as aborted. 


MCI (MISSION COMPLETE INDICATOR) 

Once all mission objectives have been completed, this visu- 
al indicator and the verbal message tell the pilot that it is time 
to exit the area or return to base, depending on the nature of 
the current mission, 


DIFFERENT VIEWS 

With a simple press of a button the viewing angle 
can be changed to one of three fantastic 3D 
viewpoints. 


FULL-SCREEN 

With this view, the virtual “camera” is in the tip of 
the nose of the helicopter, providing a full-screen 
view of the action, Almost all of the HUD appara- 
tus is shown, meaning that no information is lost 
The main disadvantage is that once the pilot's 
head has been turned to either side it can 


30 MAXIMUM * THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


become slightly confusing in the heat of battle as to which 
way the chopper is facing, 


THIRD PERSON PERSPECTIVE 

To get a better idea of the surroundings, this view comes in 
very useful. The “camera” follows the helicopter from a few 
feet behind, enabling pilots to see any enemies positioned to 
the side. This view is also useful for pinpointing the location 
of enemies because the small explosions showing up on the 
side of the helicopter indicate from where the shot was fired 


VIRTUAL COCKPIT 


The virtual cockpit looks fantastic as it is all created in full 3D. 
The instruments can be read easily and, though the cockpit 
obscures the pilot's view slightly, it is a very impressive view 
to use, There are buttons which can be used to turn the 
pilot's head to either side, enabling him/her to see 180 
degrees of the cockpit, When these buttons are used in con- 
junction with the third person perspective view, for example, 
the virtual “camera” pans around the helicopter. 


EXTENDED PLAY 


ThunderHawk 2 offers a fair degree of 
variety in its missions - check out t 
night-time escapades 


CAMPAIGNS 

There are eight campaigns in Thunderhawk 2 which must all be completed to finish the game 
properly. Each campaign consists of three or four set missions which are tackled in order, 
though the campaigns can be taken on as you desire, Before each mission there is a brief- 
ing where you are told exactly what to do by your superior and you are shown a strategic map 
showing all primary targets. When selecting which campaign to fly, you are given a brief run- 
down of what to expect. 


1. SOUTH AMERICA - ARIS RUNNING (4 Missions) 

“Intelligence reports indicate that the Colombian drugs cartels are smuggling in vast quanti- 
ties of arms at an airstrip in Northern Columbia. From a forward command base just over the 
border in Venezuela, you must co-ordinate your attacks on the arms smuggling operation.” 
This campaign features fairly simple wooded landscapes with a selection of buildings and air 
bases to destroy. On each mission there are radar masts which must be destroyed before 
attacking the primary targets to keep the enemy choppers and planes grounded. Use the 
RCS to make the runways impossible to use, then take out the potentially dangerous ene- 
mies while they are unaware of your presence. 


2. SOUTH AMERICA - STEALTH DOWN (3 Missions) 

“When terrorists of the Red Commando movement took hostage three diplomats from the 
United States embassy in the Peruvian capital of Lima, a stealth plane was dispatched to pin- 
point their whereabouts. This plane was subsequently shot down somewhere over the 
Cordillera mountain range in Eastern Peru. The American hostages have been released, but 
the stealth pilot is still alive and on the run in Red Commando territory. You must go in there 
and get him out.” 

These missions are undertaken at night for extra cover. Once the crashed stealth has been 
located, it is a battle to rescue the pilot and stop the convoys of enemy trucks from getting 
away with the top secret materials from the stealth. The trucks that escape are later found 
loading the stolen items onto a train, which must also be destroyed. 


the tak, use 


me in from above to av 
me heavy duty weaponry 


ll out of there! 


3. PANAMA CANAL - CANAL CRISIS (3 missions) 
“The democratically elected government has been brutally overthrown by a military junta 
under the command of General Hernando Dorada. Since then, the Panama Canal ~ the main 
shipping lane between the Pacific and the Caribbean - has been under blockade. Your mis- 
sion is to break the blockade and free the shipping lane.” 

These missions involve wiping out loads of enemy boats and ground-based missile launch- 
ers which are threatening the friendly shipping and NATO boats, as well as your helicopter. 
The defence missions can cause problems as the attacking forces often hide behind hills and 
launch long-range missiles at the friendly troops. 3 — 
4. CENTRAL AMERICA 003 
- RECAPTURE TOWN (3 missions) a heen 
“The Panamanian dictator, General Hernando Dorada, has 
attacked the neighbouring country of Costa Rica. His troops 
have established a bridgehead in the town of San Lorenzo, 
just over the border. Your job is to assist Costa Rican troops 
in recapturing the town.” 

This campaign is where rookie pilots get to know tanks 
well as they are the main part of the invasion force. The 
enemy has also got some large installations with missile 
launchers outside of the villages adding to the attack. The 


will be lost on collisions wit ~ so stay at a 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE + MAXIMUM 31 


This sequence reveals that some of the 
polygon pop-up in the game is, to put it 
bluntly, quite atrocious 


Take to the skies and fill the air with lead! 


settlements must be saved without causing damage to the [il 
friendly buildings so careful shooting is required. Prd 


5. EASTERN EUROPE - ESCORT CONVOY (3 missions) 
“Serbian forces have been besieging the town of Zavnik in 
the former Yugoslavia for the past three moths. The people of 
Zavnik are starving and aid convoys are unable to get 
through to them. You're going to be escorting an ‘Aid Without 
Frontiers’ convoy into the town and the only way you can do 
this is by breaking the siege.” 

The escort missions involve protecting the convoy of friendly 
trucks from the enemy which is often discovered hiding 
behind the hills using long-range weaponry. There are other 
missions involving the bombing of a bridge across the river. 


6. MIDDLE EAST - RECAPTURE TERRITORY (3 missions) 
“Tension in the middle East between Iraq and her neighbour, 
Jordan, reaches a flashpoint when Iraqi troops cross the bor- 
der, heading for the Jordanian capital, Amman. Your primary objective is to assist the 
Jordanian army in repelling the invasion force.” 

This campaign takes place along a steep canyon with missile sites often positioned part-way 
up the sides. These cause large problems as you try to take out the invading ground forces 
and defend the rather inept Jordanian army at the same time. 


7. MIDDLE EAST - OIL DISPUTE (4 missions) 

“History repeats itself when Iraq invades Kuwait. NATO is planning an immediate response 
with the landing of a task force of British and American marines on Kuwait's gulf coast. Before 
this can happen, you must assist them by clearing the beach-head of enemy forces.” 

As is mentioned in the briefing, this campaign begins with you wiping out a large fleet of Iraqi 
ships as they near the small islands just off the coast. Once this has been successfully com- 
pleted, the attack moves inland to save Kuwait 


8. SOUTH CHINA SEAS - PIRACY (3 missions) 

“The South China Sea has been plagued by pirated for many years. Hiding out on the hun- 
dreds of tiny islands comprising the Phillippines archipelago, they are consequently very dif- 
ficult to track down. One particular band of pirates, known as the ‘Black Skull Gang’ has been 
attacking passenger ships travelling from Malaysia to the Phillippene capital, Manila. In the 
past three months they have attacked no less than twenty-four ships and murdered fifteen 
people. It's your job to put a stop to their murderous exploits.” 

This campaign's missions are all spent over the water, with only very small islands and man- 
made supports for missile launchers breaking up the scenery. The missions involve saving 
threatened shipping, like the massive and very impressive cruise liner, as well as wiping out 
the various enemy installations on the islands. 


vray 


« 


A full range of military hardware is up against you! Good Luck! 


The range of enemies in 
Firestorm is quite impres- 
sive, The guide tothe right 
reveals the kind of enemy 
hardware you are up 
against in he game 


All of the objects in Thunderhawk 2 have been built in full 3D, 
meaning that there is no pixelisation when close to enemies 
and scenery, unlike the sprite-based Mega-CD version. Not 
much time can be spent admiring the fantastic looking foes 
as they're all out to send you crashing to the ground. See 
what you're up against in this brief list 


1. JEEP 
These mainly stick to the roads and tracks and are really just 
part of the enemy convoys. They are unarmed but are usual- 


32 MAXIMUM »* THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


Taking out land-based targets Is the pri 
mary aim of the majority of the missions 
in Firestorm 


The battleships often carry a full comple 


ment of on-board cannons and anti-air- 
craft weaponry, making them extremely 
formidable adversaries 


ing strategies 10 destroy these 
dreadnoughts with the minimum loss of 
armour is a top priority 


Helicopters are one ofthe fitst examples 
of enemy hardware. Choose missiles at 
long range and tie! Luckily their intelli 
gence isnt that impressive 


ly protected by tanks, though they hardly take any effort at all 
to be reduced to a smouldering heap of charcoal. 


2. CHOPPERS 

The round-fronted choppers have got great manoeuvrability 
and are fairly quick, making them hard targets to destroy. 
Though their machine guns don't do much damage in the 
short-term, constant pounding can force a mission abortion. 
Attempt to take these out before launch, otherwise use mis- 
siles when close as long-range shots are often out-run. 


3. AEROPLANES 

These jets take a long time to be launched but are particu- 
larly frustrating once they get in the air. They attack with fly- 
by motions and shoot their rapid firing guns all the way. To 
stop them, hover and rotate on the spot so that the ‘plane is 
flying straight toward you — then launch a missile when in 
range. Watch them crash to the ground in front of you as 
plumes of smoke rise and merge into the leaden skies. 


4, HELICOPTERS 

These helicopters are similar to your very own Thunderhawk 
and attack in a similar fashion to the rounded choppers. They 
are slightly faster but not quite as agile in the air. Use similar 
techniques to those used to dispatch the planes (ie. hover- 
ing). 


5. TANKS 


Quite a common enemy on the land-based missions, the 
tanks move very slowly but keep an almost constant lock on 
the player. Though the actual vehicle itself is not notably 
mobile, the gun turret on top is surprisingly quick to keep 
pointed at the Thunderhawk. 


6. SAMs 

The surface-to-air missile sites are most common on the 
China Sea missions as they defend the many enemy instal- 
lations on the tiny islands. Once the “lock” warning is given, 
drastic action has to be taken to avoid taking severe damage 
from the missiles. Hunt down the SAMs (usually positioned 
near primary targets) and remove them as soon as possible. 


7. APCs 

The armoured personnel carriers are most commonly found 
in convoys with tanks as protection. They don't actually 
cause too many problems on their own but do require larger 
amounts of ammo to destroy than trucks or jeeps. Don't 
worry about them too much unless they are primary targets. 


8. BATTLESHIPS 

These moderately-sized battleships have got massive 
armour ratings and a large array of deadly weaponry. Aim for 
the guns at the front and rear of the ship for maximum effect 
Thankfully, there aren't too many of these around at once, 
except in some piracy missions where gangs of them are 
attacking cruise ships. 


GRAPHICS NOTES 

The newly-3D graphics in 
Thunderhawk 2 are very 
cleverly done. To avoid the 
problem of there being no 
detail in the far distance, 
where the 3D scenery hasn't 
yet been built, the floor of 
the levels has been made of 
one enormous sprite, like 
the Mega-CD Thunderhawk 
game. This is then rotated 
about in a way similar to the 
Super NES's "mode 7” and 
the hills are built on top of it 
This gives the impression of 
the 3D detail running off into 
the far distance, whereas in 


EXTENDED PLAY 


Airto-alt combat is often a 
close-range affair - some- 
thing = that your 
ThunderHawk gunship isn't 
that well equipped for. Selet 
the cannons and fire! 


reality this would probably cause the game to slow down 
slightly from its amazing 25 frames per. second. 


STRATEGIES 

Though the game is described as a “3D arcade helicopter 
shoot-'em-up”, there is quite a lot of strategy involved in play- 
ing well. These are some of the more simple techniques as 
favoured by the MAXIMUM team. 


AVOIDING RADAR 

To “creep up” on enemy installations, simply fly as low to the 
ground as possible as this makes it very difficult for the 
enemy radar to pick you up. Use your own radar and head- 
ing indicator to find your targets rather than flying up high. By 
keeping low you can reach runways and helipads before the 
enemy has been scrambled, enabling you to save precious 
ammo and armour as you take them out quickly while they 
are “sitting ducks”. 


TAKE OUT THE RADAR FIRST 

By looking closely at your mission briefing, you can memo- 
rise the locations of enemy radar points. These should be 
destroyed first as they will alert the entire enemy force to you 
position, making your job a lot harder. The first enemies to 
benefit from the alerted radar sites are the helicopters, which 
are instantly dispatched to your current location. 


THE FLY-BY 

The most popular technique in air-based strategy war games 
is the fly-by, This is where the pilot simply flies toward the 
ground-based enemy, firing as he/she goes. Once the heli- 
copter has passed over the enemy, it should be turned 
around and the process should be repeated. This is particu- 
larly useful against the slow tanks as they cannot turn around 
quickly enough to follow a good pilot. 


EMERGENCY! 

If the helicopter's armour level gets particularly low and there 
is no way that the mission objectives can be completed, 
attempt to exit the mission zone. Though the mission will be 
failed, your helicopter will be saved. 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE * MAXIMUM 33 


DOOM - Destroy your mates in 
awesome terror-filled combat zones! 
PLAYSTATION DOOM - LINK-UP FOR THE ULTIMATE GORE-A-THON! 


PlayStation Doom has arrived and is currently wowing gamers across 
the globe with just the right blend of insane massacre and genuinely terrify- 
ing levels, and following our Extended Play last issue, MAXIMUM brings you 
the second portion of our Doom coverage. Not content with delivering 
arguably the finest 3D blastathon yet seen on any console, Williams enter- 
tainment have added a further touch of class - the fantastic multi-player link- 
up system. This adds substantially to the longevity and playability of an 
already first-rate title and offers a further two options; Cooperative or 
Deathmatch Doom. You are well advised to find an opponent with a lust for 
blood before darkening the lights, zipping up your combat fatigues, locking, 
loading and entering the new and unleashed horror of multi-player Doom! 


THE DEMONS ARE HERE! 

The lights are pulsating. You dive for cover as another disfigured trooper 
shambles into view. You're low on ammo, health and armour and there are 
imps everywhere. You click in your final Shotgun clip and take a deep breath. 
A growling undead sergeant takes both barrels to the guts and flies back- 


wards, hitting the deck in a shower of 


blood. You reach for your last rocket 
as inhuman shrieking fills your ears. 
The situation is looking grim, soldier! 

Suddenly, a radio transmission 
clicks in through the radio static. 
“Green leader, green leader, green 
two here to assist!” A massive explo- 
sion rocks the corridor as a dozen 
imps explode in a massive explosion 
of blue plasma. Shaking off the gore 


Take on terror i in COOPERATIVE mode!! 


DEATHMATCH TACTICS #1 
LISTENING 


Taking the example of level 31 (although all tactics 
are relevant to all arenas), a regular Deathmatch 
Doomster can instinctively know where his oppo- 
| nent is by listening to movements. The lift 
whirring can mean an attempt to jump onto the 
Plasma Gun, whilst a triple reload sound followed 
by a grunt indicates the foe is in the initial two-pil- 
Jared chamber. Another cunning plan is to use 
these sounds to confuse a semi-experienced 
player; by running down the steps outside (to the 
single-barrelled shotgun) and making the same 


ning of the level and gunning down a puzzled 
player with great delight. With practice, 
Deathmatch Doom becomes almost reliant on lis- 
tening to your enemy's progress and reacting 
suitably, 


(grunting sound, then running back to the begin- 


and plucking out the shrapnel, you 


almost launch your missile at a darting figure before 
realising the back-up you requested is finally here! 
“Thank God you're here, marine.” 

“Only too happy to oblige, sergeant!” 

“What's your name, son?” 

“Guise, sir. Tom Guise, Fresh out of the academy, and 
here to kick some Demon butt to hell and back again!” 
“Ah. | see...” 


COOPERATE OR DIE! 

The first of the two double player blast fests places two 
marines in a monster-filled Doom environment of your 
choosing. The plan is exactly the same as the one-play- 
er mode - kill everything in sight that isn’t green, 
humanoid and wearing a helmet! This is the only way to 
plough through the massive number of levels available, 
and all the methods of play learnt from previous expeditions should be utilised again. However, there are some 
extra tactics you may wish to employ to make your double quest all the more entertaining. 

There is no room for greed on cooperative mode, and all the objects scattered throughout the levels should 
be fairly shared to extend your expedition. Good verbal communication is also important, and you should con- 
stantly talk to your partner, telling him of your position and possible demonic incursions. Resist the temptation 
to split up, unless you are completely sure of the level layout, as 
bumping into one another in a darkened corridor usually results 
in the filling of pantaloons followed by a rapid exchange of gun- 
fire. With these tips in mind, you may now attempt to complete 
the fifty-four levels of PlayStation Doom with a companion. 
Prepare for a greater challenge and yet more terror! 


The main picture (above) shows how cooperative 
‘mode should be played. Remember to fire at the 
dark denizens of Hell when in cooperative mode. 

and not your team mate (let) 


34 MAXIMUM »* THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


EXTENDED PLAY 


Just when you thought that Doom couldn't get any more tense, along comes the Deathmatch mode to squeeze 
the final drop of gameplay from this title. Now your mission is to confront a carbon copy of yourself, and once | DEATHMATCH TACTICS #2 
found, it must be terminated with extreme prejudice. This link-up feature is by far the most fun you can have, 
as now the enemy is another human player who is out for your blood! You may notice that the weapon selec- 


tion has been replaced by the ‘fragometer’, indicated the number of kills you have achieved. Kill you foe, and —__There's nothing like acquiring a full range of dev- 
the fragometer increases by one, but kill yourself, and one frag is deducted. This can lead to minus frags for _astating weaponry before hunting down a hapless 
incompetent players, so watch your step! foe and destroying them in a spray of greasy 

When engaging the enemy for the first bout of bloodletting, there are some basic strategies to try. Remember _innards! To make sure you have overwhelmingly 
to side-step expertly; as rockets can be avoided this way, and the PlayStation shoulder buttons make side-step- Superior firepower at all times, you must grab 
ping all the more simple. Another basic plan is to run for items whilst looking around you for the enemy. With ___8very single piece of hardware you can from the 


practice you can back-step onto some shotgun 
ammo whilst strafing the opponent at the same 
time. To help you practice these and other 
Deathmatch skills, MAXIMUM has exhaustively 
playtested the double Deathmatch mode, and 
has found five awesome levels worthy of your 
attention. These are explored in detail, as are 
some handy hints dotted throughout this 
Extended Play. 


entire level. Once this has been achieved, return 
to the spot where you last collected your heaviest 
weapon and grab it again when it reappears. This 
is sure to infuriate a short-tempered player, but 
this is war, and it doesn't have to be fair! An 
example of greed is the Rocket Launcher located 
in the green radiation pit on level one. With this 
under your belt (and the enemy only armed with 
a shotgun), you should collect all the ammo you 
can, before returning to claim the Launcher again 
(and again). Now you are free to utterly humiliate 
your foe! 


Frag your friends in DEATHMATCH mode!! 


With a glint in their eyes, Richard and Gary both 
agreed to a mass fragathon in the name of the mag, 
For close combat, the shotgun is an ideal weapon 
(picture 1), whilst the more insane player can opt for 
some close missile action (picture 2). Finally, 
Richard runs out of Rockels and dives through the 
secret passageway to stock up (picture 3) 


DEATHMATCH ARENA 1: HANGAR 


Level one is the ideal introduction to the world of ‘fragging’. This has much to offer the 
Deathmatch virgin, and has many vantage points and windows to shoot through. 
Three weapons are on offer here - the shotgun, chain-gun and rocket launcher - and 


the two sets of armour are also a must. 


be oar aoe TE, 


This is an excellent place to stand when you've just ragged your opponent and he starts back at 

the beginning of he leve! (picture 4), With only a pistol for defence, he doesn't stand a chance! 

The ouldoor arena is where most of the carnage should take place on this lovel (sequence 
both characters madly rush for the powerlul Rocket Launcher (picture 5), but unfortun 

for Richard, Gary got there first (picture 6). Unperturbed, Richard hides: behind a distant window 

and unleashes hol tury (picture 7) until he runs out of Rockets and switches to the trusty shotgun 

to blast away at the distant Gary (picture 8) 


The ultra secret portion of the te atively sim 
ple fo enter, unless you encounter a Gary Hartod 
Rocket Launcher ambush (picture 9), Stark terror 


reigns as both players run tor the secret vantage 
point (picture 10). Out of arirmunition, Richard te 
for freedor and heads for a shotgun confiontation 
(picture 11) 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE + MAXIMUM 35, 


The BFG pick-up point is an excellent vantage point 
{o fie from (picture 1). From there, you may leap 
onto the wooden platform to follow up your assault 
(picture 2) until you run out of BFG ammo, in which 
case you should follow up with some Plasma strat 
ing (picture 3). Remember that the invincibility 
phere is up for grabs in this area 


DEATHMATCH ARENA 2: SEVER THE WICKED 

Level 26 is an ultimate Doom arena that also serves as a fine multi- 
player level. With a large open courtyard, a full compliment of fine 
armaments and some dark and atmospheric corridors, this is a 
large level that never gets too massive, and makes the hunt for the 
enemy all the more tense. 


adbetter ambush (picture 4)! Once in the BFC 
fter plan is to secure th 
protects agains! 


Play DEATHMATCH and turn foes inside out?! 


= = a 


DEATHMATCH ARENA 3: 
ENTRYWAY 

Level 31 is the first of Doom 2's many are- 
nas, and the compact size and sheer num- 
ber of weapons make for an excellent 
Deathmatch contest. Once the secret 


ed Gary (p 
much cursing 


areas have been triggered, some highly ie cbtet Woot 
desirable objects may be uncovered. You Hart! (pic 


can really rack up the kills in this level, and 
you're always never far away from an 
enraged and stalking enemy! 


DEATHMATCH TACTICS #3 
TELEPORT KNOWLEDGE 


There's nothing more satisfying than killing your 
opponent and watching him reappear within 
range of your Plasma weapon, Armed with noth- 
ing more than the pistol, he stands no chance 
against your vast armaments, and you can kill 
ntty while he mumbles quietly about the 
'S of the game. In level 31, the blue cor- 
acent to the brown arena (with the 
starting points near to each 
near to the blue 
kill your foe in the corridor 
port back in. With a little luck, 
'e of the two spots and 

Just in case he 


od-splattering death than yo 

(not at him), 
hat fitter the tloo 
into the 


36 MAXIMUM * (5 


EXTENDED PLAY 


DEATHMATCH ARENA 4: DEAD SIMPLE 

As the name suggests, level 37 is a simple affair, but a marvellous 
arena with numerous weapons to pick up. Of particular note are the 
two Megaspheres on offer. Bag both of them to avoid being toasted 
by the enemy. Also remember the berserk pack for even more ener- 
gy - your punching when enraged can deal over 100 points of dam- 
age! Overall, an excessively entertaining level. 


As this level is very straightforward (lence the title) 
this leaves you more time for constant rapid fring 
action. Collect the megasphere for awesome 
‘amounts of health (picture 1), and then you ca take 
{wo rockets without tnching (picture 2)! A tinal 
excellent power-up is the beserker health that 
empowers you with supernatural enzied strength 
leading to more gore than ever before (picture 5) 


= & 


asks 


— 
= ——s 


Mash your mates mush with missiles! ! 


DEATHMATCH ARENA 5: TRICKS AND TRAPS 
Our final Deathmatch level (number 38) is an expanse of 
chambers joined to a central hexagonal room. Forget the 
teleports and the red door, and you can have excellent fun 
blasting at enemies to smithereens as they desperately try 
to collect the more powerful guns. Try for the invincibility 
orbs (there are two) for a particularly unfair confrontation 


Richard demonstrates how to 
die in screaming agony trom 
a rapid rocket attack (pictures 
1 & 2). Another Harrod 
ambush as Richard teleports 
in alter collecting the weedy 
shotgun (picture 3), Find the 
two Megasy and you 
(pictue 4)! More 
action with both con. 
obtaining the Plasma 
rille fromm this area (picture 5), 
Finally, Gary shows how to 
find the hidden BFG in the 
area behind 
Launcher (picture 6), 


DEATHMATCH TACTICS #4 y 
GUNNING THE WOUNDED 


In the heat of a fierce Deathmatch battle, fatalities 
come extremely quickly and regularly. After a par 
ticularly close combat that results in your own 
death, you must quickly secure some heavy ordi- 
‘nance and hunt down the wounded enemy before 
they gain enough health to become a major 
threat. Sometimes it also pays to run after a 
wounded foe firing a pistol at him before he has 
chance to heal himself, This method of execution 
should cause much embarrassment to a previ- 
‘ously cocky player, and also allows you a little 
time to collect more powerful weapons, With full 
health and a favourable starting position (next to 
a weapon and near to your foe), you can take 
down the opposition with haste, and thus negate 
the frag you just gave away. 


This is the room where most of your confrontation 
will take place, as you should guard the Rocket 
Launcher pick-up point with your lite (picture 7). 
Behind the Rocket launcher is the secret area where 
the mighty BFG can be found (picture &) as well as, 
@ handy amount of health. Watch tor frenzied 
ambushes in this area (picture 9)! 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE + MAXIMUM 37 


VIRTUA COP - Hyper-realistic gun 
fighting action blasts onto the Saturn!! 


ANOTHER IMPRESSIVE COIN-OP CONVERSION FROM SEGA! 


@ The first of the Sega classic coin-ops artivesvor the Saturn and it's incredible! 
@ Tivo players can join forces and take OUI bad guys with easy to operate gun action! 


The second wave of Saturn software is continuing with a vengeance, and spearheading this 
deluge of top-quality software is Virtua Cop. This target-shooting game is the first of the ‘big three’ 
major in-house titles to arrive in this country courtesy of the fabled AM2 development team super- 
vised by Yu Suzuki, and MAXIMUM is pleased to report that the wait has been worth it AM2 have 
most definitely delivered the goods. The PAL version is fully optimised and runs at full speed with 
no borders, and offers (as you would expeet) even more options and secrets to prolong the life of 
the game. AM2 must be highly commended for creating a first rate shooter that even knocks its 
arcade counterpart into touch. 


“RAGE AND SMARTY REPORTING FOR DUTY, CHIEF!!” 

Players take the role of a gflzzied no-nonsense Virtua-police officer skilled in tactical use of 
firearms. There are two officers available for this particular mission, and both are ready to take 
down the EVL organisation by Whatever means necessary. The two uniformed heroes have been 
partners on many previoul$ €ases, and despite some unorthodox approaches to criminal arrest, 
they have been a considerable credit to the Virtua-police force. Take control of either Michael 
Hardy (aka ‘Rage’); a marksman and ace driver, or James Cools (aka ‘Smarty’); a technical expert 
with gun training to maltch. 


“GIVE IT UP KONG, WE’RE TAKING YOU IN!” 

The Saturn version of Virtua Cop features two different introductions; the 
usual arcade one (with extra tecture-mapping) and an all-new rendered affair. 
The first part of this shows Rage, Smarty and Kong (the first stage boss) strut- 
ting their stuff in various heroic poses, but the second part is far more enter- 
taining. Rage and Smarty drive at breakneck speed around the docks in their 
police rapid response vehicle (sports model), dodging metal containers and 
Performing flashy stunts. After driving through a wooden storage box (which 


The two awesome introduction SORMENSGBNG per 
fectly for the carnage to comme! TRMMMmtOn intro 
hot shows Rage (lett) and SAMARIA) about 10 
dispense the lethal type of justiGetiaislavOour 


showers the area with special Japanese Virtua Cop Saturn boxes), they exit 


the car, and come face-to-face with the 
muscular gorilla and EVL arms dealer, 
Kong. 

Kong descends on a crate from the 
skies, and produces a rocket launcher. 
Evidently out of rockets, Kongdiscards 
this and reaches for the sky, As Rage 
and Smarty relax their aim, Kong swiftly 
reaches for a concealed pistol, and fires 
at the pair. The shot passes over their 
heads, and the two officers react with 
speed, drilling the unfortunate (and now 
definitely disarmed) Kong with gunfire. 
Satisfied that the area is secure, the pair 
return to base. 


r 


38 MAXIMUM © THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


| EXTENDED PLAY 


: r 5 
= y \ = 
< OM \ 
S ES fees ‘ 


CG intro:sets the scene! Go for it, copper! 


Tailor your game with comprehensive Saturn-only features! 


In the spirit of the earlier AM2 releases, Virtua Cop includes a large number of 
options and a number of secrets (such @ MeW modes of play) that MAXIMUM is 
proud to reveal, all designed to extend the game's lifespan and provide extra shoot- 
ing action for your money. 


1, JOYPADS OR LIGHT-GUNS: YOUR CHOICE FOR A RAPID EXECUTION! 
Virtua Cop can be played using either the joypad or the light gun (a cool black 
handgun for the Japanese, and a blue children's phazer for Europe). When employ- 
ing the joypad, a small blue (OF pink) cursor appears to show your target destina- 
tion, but in the heat of the action with multiple enemies appearing, the cursor can 
sometimes be obscured, I@ading to an annoying loss of energy. Compare this to 
the light gun; the only way {0 play Virtua Cop. After a brief 
gun alignment you are ready to begin, and although quite 
weighty, these plastic pistols offer fantastic accuracy and 
no on-screen cursOf af aWesome gaming experience. 
For utterly over-the-top action, you can even employ the 
unofficial ‘John Wee! option of plugging two guns in and 
using them both @i@nce! Whatever your choice of con- 
trol, you can be sue of the finest scrolling shooting action 
ever seen in a video game. 


2. HOME ON THE RANGE 

Honing your gum Skills prior to your mission at the Virtua 
City Police firing Fange is vitally important. This is particu- 
larly useful for getting to grips with your light gun, and two 
players may also face off against each other. The one- 
player game has more to offer though, and pits you 
(Rage) against different opponents over a number of tar- 
get shooting seenarios. Kong, King and your alter-ego all 
challenge your aiming ability before a final showdown 
with your partnel Smarty! 


ose) 


3. RANKING MODE FOR TRUE COMBAT SPECIALISTS! 

Complete all three level @f the game, and you are treated to an excellent 
ending, and the chance to eomplete the game again in Ranking mode, This 
works in the same way as Afeade mode, except that you only take five hits 
before keeling over, This requires @ true expert level of gaming skill, and onee 
your lives are lost, you are given @ combat performance rating (in the same 
manner as Virtua Fighter's ranking mode). 


4. TOUGHEN UP YOUR ENEMIES 

Virtua Cop features nine difficulty Settings, and these effect the aim of the 
baddies, and the speed of the game. Set this to ‘Hardest’ difficulty settings, 
and the game runs at the same speed as the arcade version with deadly ene- 
mies and no margin for error. 


5. “WHAT IS THIS PLACE? IT LOOKS KINDA MIRRORED...” 

The Saturn version of Virtua Cop features a special Mirror mode enabling you 
to gun your way through a mirror-image of the original three levels. This is 
an excellent addition to the game and essentially provides three extra walk- 
throughs of familiar shoot-outs that are sufficiently different fo warrant the 
extra interest. To switch the mirror mode on, you must bring Up the options 
screen and highlight the three arrows next 
to the word ‘exit’. Once highlighted, select 
the arrows and a secret options screen watts. 
appears (but only if you've already com- nine ine. 


pleted the game in arcade mode) ie papain 


The Secret options screen is 
wess (right), and 
ay be selected (Iar fight 


40 MAXIMUM * THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


EXTENDED PLAY | 


BEGINNER STAGE 1: ARMS BLACK MARKET 


You receive a call from Police Chief Hambleton requesting a rapid response to a serious 
development. Police informers have leaked a message that a major arms transaction is 
occurring down at the docks, and you are needed to storm the area and stop that deal in your 
usual over-the-top style. Chief Hambleton warns you that the infamous underworld merce- 
Hato Ubalbols nary, Kong, has been sighted and is overseeing the proceedings. 


Scene 1: The main gates! 


Rage and Smarty arive atthe Whart gates primed for some expert sharpshooting action. Struggling 
{nto their bulle-proot vests and combat pantaloons, they ready themselves for the blast fest that is 
Yo come. This intial section of the level serves as a gentle introduction to the Virtua Cop gaming 
environment; with the EVL troopers (mainly consisting of black suited types) popping up adjacent 
(o each other and spending ages aiming at you. This is the perfect opportunity to train your per 
sonal gun-aiming skills while the EVL heavies stroll into view and wait for your bullets to hit. The 
only real surprise is the EVL employee hidden in the perimeter guardhouse, and the easiest way to 
take him down is to shoot the glass out and aim forthe right window just before he appears. 


SHOOT TO SELECT 


Just belore entering the main gates, gun down all the EVL trope 

descending from the smugglers’ truck. The bomber-jacketed leader is 

easy to shoot; the main problems come from troopers on the tops of 

crates and cranes that take time to home in on. When panning from 

felt to right, pump shots into the red petrol barrels in the foreground 
this takes out two hapless troopers in a spectacular fashion! 


AMter the action has moved to the right ofthe erale-storing 
quayside, you'l find that more hostages pop upto confuse 
you: either in the foreground OF On top. of the large grey 
building, Watch forthe crate on the fight of your pat - keep 
shooting at it fora rifle (remember that you can't reload it), 
‘and an automatic is on offer if there's two of you playing, 


Scene 2: Out in the open! 


The maze of crates have been cleansed of EVL scum, Rage and Smarty look at each other with a 
smile on their faces. “Let's do it” they cry, and take up defensive positions behind a pile of dead 
bodies, The second scene is a litle trickier, as your accuracy must be excellent in order to execute 
the remainder of the dock guards. First up is some roottop hi-jnks with innocent workers and slow 
‘Qunmen; followed by a spot of sharpshooting at grunts located behind wooden crates, With these 
taken out, the level's boss, Kong, decides it's time for a tactical retreat and bursts out of the ware 
house on a truck cab (and can't be shot) 


Realising their exposed position, Rage and Smarty decide 
to.blow everything apart, and this should work well for you 
too. Panning left, destroy the barrels and the suited types 
(get blown away by the shockwave. Next, keep alert for a 
‘number of other EVL chaps popping up ftom the ship, and 
there's another barrel to explode. After the shoreline 
deaths, a baddie falls onto a crate, revealing an automatic. 
Keep cool outside the warehouse entrance, gunning any 
bloke that isn't wearing white (and the car windows). 


42 MAXIMUM * THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


ENDED PLAY 
Scene 3: The warehouse! 


The warehouse doors open revealing a whole army of black suits 
‘eady for your artival, These chaps aim with some degree of acura. 
cy. $0 be quick or be dead. Alter the first wave of fodder, gun the 
Uuntargetted bloke on the steel balcony, and he'll drop a shotgun that 
can deal some pretty nasty virtual death. Odd angles and quick 


changing camera panning means a contusing room that takes time to 
master, Go to it, mister 


Our advice is to fire quickly and accurately; don't go crazy and gun 
everything down as there are civilians that need rescuing. H you lose 
Your shotgun, there's another point where a similar untaretted chap 
‘uns from right to left - and he drops an automatic. The action gets 
much more frantic here, as the brainwashed bad guys try everything 
‘under the sun to take you out ~ short of becoming competent. Note 
the tuxedoed gentlemen falling from the cardboard crate (lef); they 
appear quickly So you need to know where you''e shooting to avoid a 
wounding 


The brainwashed bad guys are at their most dangerous when they 
appear one behind another (below). This causes problems as one vir 
tually dead trooper winks out of existence and obscures his mate, 


Note that hiding behind a ‘Friend Electronics’ box doesn't 
protect you from the law (above). Also remember the rules 
about Justice Shots and Bullseyes. As you can see, our 
slick-haited gentleman has been shot rather mercilessly in 
the leg, and this incurs you no bonus points. Much better 
is to shoot virtual baddies in the head or torso (a good shot 
results in a Bullseye’ message), or if you're feeling gener 

us, why not disarm them with supremely accurate firing 

thus earning a Justice Shot’ message. 


Kong is a slow buffoon with a high endurance, and is quite easy to defeat. Keep firing away 

at his torso, and shoot any of the rockets that he fires before they connect and damage 
you. After about 50 shots, Kong drops his Rocket Launcher and pretends to give himself 
up, but keep your gun trained on the bounder - he'll reach for a concealed pistol at the 
first opportunity! Quick reactions at this point are needed to dispatch Kong before he has 
chance to fire; after which he topples off the lorry to his death. Your jubilation is shortlived 
however, as you realise Kong was placed only to stall you whilst the main villains escape 

in a bullet-proof helicopter. Track that helicopter to the next plan of operations. 


Kong's missile launcher tires off double 
the number of rockets in two-player mode 
(right), but this still dosen't make tin 
such more difficult to take down, 


Single players need not worry about facing this ape-tike 
‘master of smuggling operations. Assuming you have your 
piece’ (and haven’ traded it in for an automatic), Kong is 
siill simple enough to defeat - you just fire your frst three 
shots at his incoming rockets and save the rest of the 
chamber for his torso, With two-player qun action, itis bet 
ter to formulate some sort of plan; and the best we've come 
up with fs one player targetting all his shots at Kong while 
the other explodes any stray missile. 


i“ THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE + MAXIMUM 43 


MEDIUM STAGE 2: UNDERGROUND WEAPON STORAGE 


Be F ats You report back to the station after a job well done, but Chief 
oh [eee <i} Hambleton still isn't satisfied, grumbling that the main EVL members 
5 escaped. Police intelligence reports that some of the weapons from 
the black market are being stored at a nearby building site. As the 
EVL chopper was heading in that direction, Chief Hambleton reckons 
that the site would be a good place to continue your ‘investigation’. 
Chief's message: "Stand firm boys, and remember to gun them down 
where they stand! 


Scene 1: The building site! 


Sponging off the blood stains from their rulfled uniforms, Rage and 
Smarty prepare to venture into an altogether less inviting gangland 
area. The action has heated up immensely, and as a rule the baddies 
ting their firearms to bear at a much quicker rate (especially the 
jean-wearing Elvis lookalikes). The sequence above shows the inital 
part of the building site - the collapsing scaffolding occurs when you 
hit one of the two red barrels, and this scenic destruction can be 
timed so that the tower falls on troops emerging from behind the 
cement mixer, killing up to three chaps. Excellent stutt 


Rage and Smarty encounter Billy-bob and the rest of his family on top 
ofa slag heap (above). Whilst happily gunning these bumpkins down 
where they stand, remember that they appear towards the top of the 
screen - So make sure your gun doesn't reload instead of bringing 
them to justice. 


The main four pictures show various early stages in the building site, 
‘and you really need to aim well to avoid hitting innocents (above 
right). The problem of firing through dying baddies is also a problem 
(left), whilst strange angles and small targets with innocents running 
about makes the conveyor belt encounter another tough portion to 
‘overcome (far right) 


After the conveyor b es tum their 
attention to the hig }a 30-shot machine gun 
can be | gels (far lett). After the 
d @ action swings round to a 
orkers (sequence let), Very quick 

Fis the order of the day here, as up to three 

 EVL employees can be firing at once. If you 

Nis Section without being wounded, you're doing very 


'well hidden behind that truck. Lock and load! 


A prized automatic is up for grabs in a wooden crate, and this remains 
available to be shot at for a while (far lett). Once the automatic is 
picked up, the strafing of EVL bounders can begin in earnest (lett) 
Just before you second (and far more frenzied) part of 
the quarty, a r ide of the dumper truck, Firstly, 
shoot the windows out of the truck at the fist opportunity, and ready 
yourselt To avoid being crushed (and losing a life) you must gun the 
driver down betore he has chance to run over you, Aim carefully! 


44 MAXIMUM = THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


EXTENDED PLAY 


The pace of this area is as trantic as any yout Ikaly tose Virtua Cop. Aside from a stabbing by 
a digger (lar lel), you must cope with the usual aveeWieiGing maniacs (middle lel) and a mult 
of enemies (lett) 11s precisely at this point that a Second automatic may be gained from the quar 
ry tim, and an extra life can be grabbed if you're proliglent enough to aim at a fleeing brown over 


de 


Scene 3: Inside the bunker! 


Ghee the frantic outdoor quarry m fas ended, our heroes in 
(Black ready themselves for a short but extremely bloody bout of EVL 
SSWAT team kiling, The action is intense and claustrophobic, but worst 
Of all. the SWAT team decide to jump out at you in groups of up to 
ight! Get ready for more intense gun action than you can possibly 
handle! Which is probably quite a fair bit, 


The sequence below shows the gun combat you can expect from the 
bunker area. A policy of rapid fring followed by even more rapid 
reloading works well. So does blowing away everything like crazy! 


The remainder of he aroalfseven more taxing! Wave after wave of more 
intelligent troopers Give nia Mew, Including some grenade-throwers 
that are a pain to Killwithoubeiilan casualties, Watch forthe awesome 
cat explosion, 100 


STAGE 2 MEDIUM BOSS KI | G 


Hilal to your continued success in the battle against the 
Unis OF SWAT members isthe machine gun. Alas, this can 
IROL be reloaded, and lasts but 30 shots, but before the bul 
Jels run out you can inflict some serious multiple wound: 
Hogs on anything that move: ‘out for the peeping 
Civilian midway through the level, but dan’ lose heart ihe 
buys the farm - you'll stil keep the machine gun (and thi 
applies toe ial weapon). A final brown overall man 
faces you - blow him away and nick his magnum belore 
facing the madman known as King, 


“SO YAH MADE IT THIS FAR, EH? HA HAR!!” 


At the end of the SWAT filled corridor, you confront the leader of the gun storing operation, King. 
Dressed in green combat fatigues, this bearded gentlemen mocks you before Jaying into you with 
a flamethrower. With your Magnum (hopefully) in your hands, you should aim fapicefiring shots 
into his belly, and take care of any homing flames with extra firing. After taking @ few hits, King dis- 
appears behind the storage boxes, and leaves you to fend off expert SWAT team snipers. These 
are extremely difficult to take out without being hit, as they fire almost immediately, $0 expect to 
incur heavy wounding before facing King for 
another onslaught. After taking another dozen or 
so bullets, King vanishes again, leaving more 
combat troopers to destroy. Keep a tight pattern 
down with one bullet for each enemy, before fac- 
ing King again. 

When all of King's energy is depleted, he falls 
to his knees ready to surrender. However, as 
Rage or Smarty, you shouldn't fall for this weak 
ploy again, so gun him down where he kneels 
before he can produce a pistol. With King out of 
the picture, you can return to base. 


wethower that King carries (lelt) is set to maximum fuel con 


expect only three plumes otf 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE +» MAXIMUM 45 


EXPERT STAGE 3: GANG HEADQUARTERS 


On your return to base, the Chief informs you that the entire EVL 
organisation is holed up at their business offices, and have taken 
hostages! The Virtua Police now have enough information to haul the 
EVL directors in and throw the book at them; all they need is for you 
to secure the building. This is going to test your sharpshooting skills 
to the very limits, but play it cool and watch for the odd surprise! 

Chief's message: “I'm getting mighty sick of those EVL gangsters! 
Execute them alll darn it, and bring me the leader's head on a plate!” 


Scene 1: The car park! 


While the Chief and the rest of the Virtua Police cover the rear of the 
building, Rage and Smarty grin knowingly at their new decoying mis 
ion i's hance for mountains of carnage! The beginning of the 
car park level is deceptively easy, and quite eminisent ofthe stark Of 
stage one,, with each EVL member requiring one aimed shot (OF tw 
if you want to see them twitch and stagger) followed by a quiek 
reload. A shotgun is available extremely early (top right), anid YOu a 
‘advised to oblain it immediately - your life may well depend On it 


The perimeter “secured’, Rage and Smarty move to the 
underground parking area, and this features some of the 
most spectacular take-downs ever seen, n the frst room, 
void the barrel on the right, next to the truck (far elt) if you 
have previously obtained the sholgun, as this barrel con- 
tains the rifle (which only lasts for 30 shots). Blow the cen- 
tral barrel afler you've dispatched the baddies on the left 

you'll take out the grenade: throwers. The next rooms con: 
tain the finest barel explosions ever (just blast away!), and 
tty shooting the Exit sign belore you reach the stats 


Scene 2: What a reception! 


More than satisfied with thelr eomibal performance, the terrible two 
some enter the main foyer, aware ofthe overwhelming ids they Lace 
The main problem here Is cilians; they are positioned al infuriating 
angles and impede your Shafpshooling skills - indeed! some are used 
as shields by 1855 Serupulous EVL members, These taxets present 
the most problem, requiring split-second timing Midway thvough 
this Hoel Balle an enlite SWAT team decide to employ a novel 
‘approachit6 parking. and these chaps storm in trom both sides of the 
creen simultaneously! Have you got the nerve to take then all on? 


Aniolhide problem with those pesky SWAT members is how close they 
Wan TO Get to you (above and far right), “Employing hand-to-hand 
Goimbat with a Virtua Police officer, elv? Unlucky for you. A rapid tir 
PxaCulION should make you think again! 


Before moving on from the foyer combat arena, you'll notice two 
standing hostages wil packs to you during this section, A fan: 
fastic aim is required to shoot the untagetted SWAT members that 
fun behind them, and these should be shot as one carries an extra lie 
(particularly useful in Ranking mode). Atter climbing the escalator, a 
‘machine un is up or grabs, and can be used to dispense autotiring 
justice at a vast rate (right) before the central offices are encounted. 


heer nuniber of ons lel). Graby 
he automatic initially, and rapidly execute al the trooper 
behind the desk. Another trooper carries a magnum, so you 
have a choice of special weapons, and these are needed tor 
the waves of EVL's finest. Nole that the computer monitor 
Can be damaged - the screen cracks, explodes and then 
Shorts after repeated tiring (above) 


en enemies (seque 


46 MAXIMUM > JHE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


Towards the end of the office area, the EVL combat squads become 
increasing.y rantic in their mission to annihilate you, Alter weaving 
your way through the office space (and hopelully picking up the auto 
matic from a downed baddie), you reach the book-keeping depart 
‘ment, Forget the dropped rifle (right) it you're already on autotire, and 
ready yoursell for the secret bookcase - there's a whole welcoming 
Commitee behind it lar right)! 


EXTENDED PLAY 


The rad-suited brigade present the hardest challenge: of all 

can you execute every one without being shot? These quys 
aims fast and die hard, bul quite why they're sulted for action 
i's more of a mystery. Once these have been erased from the 
‘game, a right turn Is followed by another fine aiming ses 
sion where a couple of grenade throwers need justice 
despensed. Then i's ino the final courtyard 


Scene 3: The head office! 


Rage and Smarty enter the Ill and spend a quality moment together 
(wing the gore from their combat suits) before reaching he top Noor 
‘of the building, This is the Penthouse suite, and offers an initial sur 
prise for the unwary. AS soon as the litt doors slide back, a tactical 
combat unit of EVL'S finest rad-suited veterans ready themselves to 
‘gun you down with extreme projudice 


A final two black suits stand in your way before the final showdown 
with the EVL president. Negotiate the fountain, and if you have time, 
why not blow the head off the stale just 10 show your displeas 
Incidentally, the sculpture ise i of Vitua Fighter's Sarah 


e? 


STAGE 3 EXPERT BOSS EVL PRESIDENT 


“YOU'LL REGRET BEING IN THE WRONG PLACE AT THE WRONG TIME!!” 


This white-suited bald and bloated Godfather figure 
(known as the EVL President) registers his displeasure 
before filling the room with smoke. This gives him 
enough time to clamber into his dreadnought suit and 
attempt to make mincemeat out of you. In reality how- 
ever, this chap is extremely easy to take down without 
even being hit once. Simply aim at his rocket launcher 
(in the same manner as for Kong on the first stage), and 
when he stops to aim his laser cannon, fire at that 
instead, After much punishment, the dreadnought suit 
blackens before finally exploding and sending the Boss 
flying through the air and into your custody. The game 
is up... or is it? 


Initially, the EVL president mocks you before exploding his 
desk and clambering into his tactical dreadnought sul 
Prepare for an awesome showdown! 


VIRTUA COP ENDS 


Two-player tactics are similar for taking this guy down as 
for King - you gun away at the armour while your partner 
takes care of the missiles. Beware of his laser cannon as 
some serious punishment. Repeat this process and ¢ 
tually the President will yield. Is this the end, or is the real 
EVL leader still baying for your blood? 


starts to be targetted, fire away at it, oF expect 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE * MAXIMUM 47 


The sword-swinging saga just gets better! 
Cut down your enemy with glee! 


He brandishes a mighty sword, and cuts swathes through the hapless humans in his path. The life-blood spurts forth 
from these little men, and terrible voiceless cries are uttered before they are swallowed up and taken from this world. Many men 
frantically scrabble to escape him, and all are fearful of his great power. He is known as the Devil and has torn his own heart 
from his body. Wailing ghosts from throughout time litter his travelling path to destiny, and he is relentless in his search for fresh 
mortals to dispatch. He wanders throughout the ages, hacking all asunder. 

He appears in a desolate village and spies a young woman cradling a 
newly-born baby. She may know, him or she may not, but a great fear sur- 
rounds her and she utters only silence. The wind quietly whistles and the vil- 
lage is silent, save for the woman's chattering teeth. The Devil seizes her and 
runs her through with his sword, lifting her high into the darkening skies. The 
wailing cries of the baby halts the Devil, who stalls in his skewering, and 
places the twitching body of the woman on a smooth rock. He retrieves the 
weapon from the woman, and gazes at the child through stone-like eyes. The 
night falls, and the Devil turns his back on the baby and walks away. 

This marks the end of the Devil's attacks on defenceless villagers, He turns 
his killing spree to sword-bearing samurai warriors and no others. His unfath- 
omable actions strike fear into the warrior castes, but the peasants rest easy 
in their beds. He continues his pillaging until 12 mighty 
warriors from throughout the land hear of his arrival, and 
rise to meet him. Through different purposes, these 
swordsmen must destroy Minazuki Zankurou - the Devil 
in human form 

When SNK released Samurai Spirits (known as 
Samurai Shodown in the West) almost three years ago, 
it rightly received monumental acclaim in arcades world- 
wide, and nearly succeeded in toppling Capcom's 
mighty Street Fighter series from its monopolising 
pedestal. There were many new factors that gave 
Shodown the edge (literally) such as the programming 
team (senior SNK programmers with purloined Capcom 
staff), luscious in-game backgrounds, interactive 
scenery and an excellent control system coupled with a 


SAMURAI SHODOWN 3 - Return to the 
blood-bath battlefields for a third time! 


variety of well-designed and recognisable characters. The 
gameplay was fluid, but the main innovation was the intro- 
duction of weapons; a fighting addition previously only 
seen in the hands of the Spanish Street Fighter premadona, 
Vega (or Balrog depending on what version of the game 
you played). 

As the success of Shodown grew, arcade punters 
demanded a sequel featuring more of everything, and SNK 
duly obliged, producing Samurai Spirits 2 (or Shodown 2) 
in mid 1994, This featured a refinement of fighting tech- 
niques, the balancing of over-powertul fighters (such as the 
colossal Earthquake), a cast of new faces (and the removal 
of the Demon Tam Tam) and the all-important power moves 
and extra attacks. The phenomena continued, and 
Shodown 2 became yet another Neo Geo success story, 
despite the fact that many people preferred the feel and 
play of the original. Now the third instalment is here, and 
scheduled for a December release in Japan (cartridge on 
the 1st, CD on the 22nd), whilst the identical arcade version 
is drawing crowds throughout this country. 


To have no fear! To slice and kill! EXTENDED PLAY 


NG fan: 


“JANUARY 06 


Although following on from the first and s@cond titles with a 
continuingsstoryline, the content and style of the game has 
undergone a transformation, as SNK have attempted to con- 
struct a new fighting title that borrows from the previous incar- 
nations without being just another upgrade: 


MIGHTY WARRIORS GATHER FROM ACROSS THE LAND 

Part of this change are the variety of characters; Shodown 3 has lost some of the less 
popular combatants, supplementing them with ¢arefully playtested and all new war- 
iors. The choice of characters is limited to 12; seven previously seen warriors, and five 
all-new honour-bound fighters, Apart from these chosen few, there are two other 
unseen opponents to face. 


CHOOSE YOUR DESTINY j ne 
Also presentis a choice of paths to destiny; for those unsure of their character's abili- = 


ties to the expert Shodown gamer. Once you have Selécted your character, you may 

choose whether your character is Good or Evil. Good characters learn their arts by util- 

ising Chivalry, whilst Evil characters draw their power from Treachery. These are also re 

known as ‘Slash’ (Good) and ‘Bust’ (Evil) in the actual selection screen. he 
Good and Evil characters are primarily different becaUse of the sword that they use, 

and these swords are known by their Buddhist terms. The Chivalrous character wields 

the bizarrely named ‘Shuura’ (Scene of Carnage), whilst the Treacherous samurai aa 

holds the ‘Rasetsu’ (Hungry Devils’ Hell). These differing swords essentially influence W QUE. 

the particular samurai's style of play, and means thatja Good character has a number 

of different moves from the Evil equivalent. fs 

SELECT YOUR FIGHTING GRADE a hi 

ih wat. After selecting your character's destiny, you then decide upon their level of ability. 4 0% 

‘o's powered up fo the maximum. Once your poweel! Aer. ate three to choose from, the ‘Sword Guest’ (or Beginner's Mode), the ‘Sword 

try unleashing your awesome — fPl@Wwer’ (Intermediate Mode) and the ‘Sword Sacred’ (Advanced Mode), and all of the 


grades Gan be changed before any battle. The beginner's mode endows your fighter 
with five auto-guards and leads to con: 


frontations favouring the player, and is 
a good way to familiarise yourself with 
the Shodown control system, The inter- 
° 


9 aviciou 


Se LoMErry mediate mode allows normal fighting 
to occur, whilst the advanced mode 
gives your character a permanent state 
of anger and a fully powered-upyrage 
gauge at the expensive of blocking) 


The inal stages of character sele 
tion (above)-show the.wealth of extra 
detail afforded by the 
the third Shodown 


pro: 
technique, whi 
to the ar 


AGAZINE + MAXIMUM 49 


New features and fighting motions expand the play! 
Power-up the anger gauge and defeat the Devil! 


py 10 oblige 


when asked to the 
four basic al 


a hapless Ukyo (lef 


BASIC ATTACKS 
The usual Neo Geo four buttons are employed for this game. A, B and C buttons exe- 
cutes a light, medium or strong slash whilst the D button enables a kick. With A + B 
buttons pressed together, your character may dodge the blows of an enemy (see 
below) 


DEFEND YOUR HONOUR!! 

Blocking in Samurai Shodown is handled in the usual manner, Pull back to block and 
down-back to crouch and block, Familiarise yourself with the controls, as the more cun- 
ning crouching block attack may be employed on an unsuspecting opponent. A new 
feature for the Samurai saga is the ability to block attacks in mid-air. This feature comes 
in handy when jumping towards a CPU opponent. 


GRAB AND HURL 

All of the characters benefit from an ability to grab an opponent a throw them forward, 
after which a mighty blow can be struck. This is achieved by pressing C when close, 
but other characters have an extended range of normal throws (such as Gaira) and 
some even have air throws (like Nakoruru) for ultimate aerial supremacy. 


USE NIMBLE FOOTWORK TO WEAVE WITH GRACE AND BEAUTY! 

Samurai Shodown 3 employs two new techniques that are used when dodging an opponent. By press- 
ing A + B together when close, your character confuses the opponent by swiftly stepping round them 
to attack from behind. When in combat, this is a great way to inflict a vast amount of damage on an 
unguarded foe. The other technique is the avoiding sidestep previously seen in King of Fighters '95. By 
pressing A + B when your character is at some distance from the enemy, he or she quickly moves to 
the side of the arena, and thus avoids any projectile attacks hurled by the enemy. 


A bemused Genjuro lov 


A 


that 


fevious 
a well 
shed 


anzo shows off t 


of the footwork 


Channel your rage into the Anger Gauge! 


se 4 START” ENGAGE THE RAGE!! 

Press A + B + C together, and a plume of mystical fire engulfs your 
samurai as he or she powers up the Rage Gauge, becoming 
increasingly angered until maximum power is reached. After this 
supreme anger has occurred, your character may perform a spe- 
cial manoeuvre, and any wounds inflict more damage on your 
opponent than normal. The Rage (or Anger) Gauge is located at the 
bottom of the screen once battle commences, and is powered up 
either by the enraging technique, or by striking an opponent or 
being hit yourself 


fire (left), but 


you dangeroi 


lyin 
of successtul 


50 MAXIMUM = THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


EXTENDED PLAY | 
Use these tips to survive the carnage and then kill without mercy! 


SWORD-LOCKING FOR FRANTIC BATTLING!! 

The frantic struggle for the upper hand extends to a special ‘sword clash’ that has featured in 
both Shodown predecessors. During a round, both characters may clash their swords togeth- 
er at precisely the same time, leading to a sword lock, flying sparks and a dramatic struggle. 
By hammering the buttons with great relish you may overcome your opponent and disarm 
them, sending their weapon flying and gaining the upper hand 


CHALLENGER 
: z an 
TAKE THE ‘WHITE-BLADED TRUE SWORD’ BY HAND! — ee 


Once the sword-locking has taken effect and you are left without a weapon, 
a new feature enables a disarmed warrior toturn this to an advantage by util- 
ising the body strike. Perform a half-circle towards your opponent as they 
strike, and your character grabs the enemy weapon by the blade with a palm 
clasp, and yanks it away, leaving a shocked (and now disarmed) enemy ripe 
for the fisticuff retaliation that automatically follows. This particular technique 
is incredible to watch but also incredibly difficult to perform successfully and 
you could well be killed when 
attempting to catch a strong sword 
slash! Use with caution. 


The white bladed true sword fechnique is admirably 
demonstrated (right and fa right), but in the heat of 
battle, the difficulty of the sword-grabbing motion 
of the most difficult moves in the 
One for true masters only. 


STAGGER YOUR FOE WITH THE DEFENCE CRUSHERS 


Two final new techniques have made their way into this fighting extravagan- 
za, and they are both designed to unbalance the enemy who is performing a 
crouching block. By pressing forward and BC when close, you can push the 
enemy a couple of steps backward, during which time you can start a series 
of devastating attacking strikes. An alternative to this is the pulling defence 
crusher thatis achieved by pressing back and BC. Both these attacks make 
your enemy prone and subject to a humiliating take-down. Both motions 
push your opponent some distance so this technique works well for warriors 
with lengthy weaponry like Kyoshiro and Genjuro. 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE + MAXIMUM 51 


Original heroes return with greater power than ever before! 


1. HOAHMARU This maturing fighter and 
central character in the Shodown trilogy has. 
travelled far and wide in his never-ending 
quest to become theultimate bladed fighter. 
Hoahmaru's wanderings to the East and the 
West to hone his skills led him to a village that 
had previously received a visitation from the 
Devil. A single child survivor encourages 
Hoahmaru to root out the Devil and avenge 
the massacre, and Hoahmaru accepts without 
hesitation, Perhaps Hoahmaru should have 
questioned the child, as ‘the little one’ 
stopped the bloodshed single-handedly, and 
appears to be the real child.of the Devil, 
responsible for Zankuro turning his attention 
to Samurai blood... 

Hoahmaru appears little changed from 
Shodown 2; still able to perform his cyclone 
slash and crescent moon, but these have sup- 
plemented with a number of new moves and 
flesh out Hoahmaru into a good steady fighter. 


2. NAKORURU she has been gently cra- 
dled by Mother Earth from childhood, and has 
dedicated her life to the service of the Miko 
shrine. Recently, she has become aware of 
disturbances in the fabric of Nature’s harmony 
caused by the Devil, and sets off to save his 
soul and abnormal fighting spirit. 
Accompanying her is the stepmother of the 
treasured “chichi-ushi" (Father Bear) sword; 
Jishuucho, and her protector; a wolf named 
Thikruu. 

Nakoruru’s strengths lie in her air suprema- 
cy, nimbleness and ability to jump around the 
sides of the screen. Her Hawk accompanies 
her Good character, and the Wolf guards her 
Evil twin, and this can be ridden in combat. 


3. HANZO HATTORI The teared and most 
powerful of all the Ninjas in the Iga Clan. Clan 
elders have requested him to investigate the 
death of a sword-bearing Samurai at the 
hands of the Devil during a mas- 
sacre some years ago. Hanzo also 
has personal reasons for con- 
fronting the Devil as he realises 
that Zankuro is actually an old 
friend 

‘Swift and nimble with a vast array 
of special powers, Hanzo is a plea- 
sure to control, His Earth Opener 
and Air Shurikens complement his 
Log’ ability and. simple super 


This has 
beat ‘em ups fr 


52 MAXIMUM = THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


4. GALFORD The American Ninja travels 
throughout the lands with his pet dog, Poppy. 
He encounters a massacred village and a 
Mysterious young child, and hunts down the 
Devil after taking to the child. His motives are 
to bring down the Devil so that justice can pre- 
vail, 

Galford is another character that has 
changed little since previous Shodowns. His 
plasma attack and other basic moves are 
extremely similar to Hanzo’s, but Galford has 
the added option of Poppy-based attacks; and 
these are somewhat different than before. 


5. KYOSHIRO SENRYO The tiamboyant 
Kabuki actor holds a Japanese sword and is 
questing to perfect his dancing style. He 
watches the Devil at work, and is impressed 
and moved by the ‘Devil's Dance’ to such an 
extent that he fights to face him and make his 
‘own dance as beautiful 

Kyoshiro's main strength is his long-ranged 
staff attacks, meaning that enemies can be 
dispatched before they close. Other than a 
few new spectacular moves, Kyoshiro is much 
the same as he ever was. 


6. UKYO TACHIBANA atiicted by a terri- 
ble disease, this master of “iai-kiri” is targeted 
by the Devil after his school is struck by 
Zankuro's terrible power. Ukyo's teacher and 
@guardsman both fall to Zankuro's might, and 
Ukyo set off to avenge both their deaths 

An unassuming character, but with his 
Apple slice and Heaven's Gales make him an 
entertaining character to play. His range of 
attacks have been upped considerably since 
his last outing 


7. GENJURO KIBAGAMI an aimiess 
wanderer, Genjuro still aims to defeat 
Hoahmaru and has one purpose; to bring 
down his sword gripped in his left hand into 
the chest of any he faces. he feels no emotion 
at killing anyone; even the Devil. 

An extremely powerful character with spectac- 
ular moves involving magical playing cards, 
Genjuro is easy to get to grips with and is ini- 
tially similar to Haohmaru. A very powerful 
character indeed, and one of the finest in the 
game. 


The Sweet pink blossom of Hoahmatu's park stage 
t 1d skewering.that takes place in tt 


foreground 


enjuro employs a direc 


Kyoshiro demonstrates one of hi 
many new spectacular and combat 
winning. strikes 

Plague. This is just one 
extra attacks posse 


ans of previous Shi 


known as the Toad 
the many 


Deal death to the devil with 


the devastating Dark Destroyer! 


i 


EXTENDED PLAY 


The other-worldly being of supreme power seeks to 
purify himself still further. The self-proclaimed “Reliever of 
Souls”, he continues his ongoing mission to kill all base 
human beings with a phase shift and a cry of agony. The 
blood still tastes as fresh as the day he attained his god-like 
Status, but now there is a noticeable disturbance in the cos- 
mos.-Instead of attempting to destroy all of Nature's cre- 
ations, he attempts to seek out this tearing of the ether, and 
views the massive destructive force of the Devil. Seeing the 


More AmakuSa’aection, with the Miasma 
Plasma (top tet), the Judgement Blow 
(above), and the Evil Homet Gouger 
Forward (el) 


Am ak usa - Heaven’s fallen oa . 


of destruction seeks to seize Zankuro’s power! 


limitless power, his spirit shines bright as he sets off to obtain this power through the slow 
and painful death of Zankuro. 

The most flamboyant of all the characters in Samurai Shodown 3, Amakusa is a posing but 
extremely powerful in the combat arena. His extreme magical prowess allows him to sum- 
mon great power and channel it into his weapon; a magical crystal ball. Amakusa’s speed 
and confusing moves are his strengths; his blurring dashes can leave an opponent extreme- 
ly unguarded, and his air attacks complicate combat still further as the opponent doesn't 
know where to block, Control Amakusa and you contro! a stylish and frighteningly confusing 
immortal 


AMAKUSA’S HOME STAGE - STONE CIRCLE OF THE ETHER 

With a supernatural pink sky and a hovering magical rock, this stage is located between the 
worlds of the morta! and the immortal, Amakusa has constructed the channelling place him- 
self, and the many granite rocks have been personally blessed by the master magician. 
During the final stages of the fight, the arena reacts to the possibility of Amakusa’s defeat, 
and directs energy from the sky into the circle, turning the stage into a giant focussing shell 


| | AMAKUSA'S TREACHERY TECHNIQUES 


| SPECIAL MOVES 
EVIL HORNET GOUGER FORWARD eeteanm sD EVIL HORNET GOUGER FORWARD weteae +d 
EVIL HORNET GOUGER REVERSE | mia) #eles + D ~ EVIL HORNET GOUGER REVERSE aa tee sD 
HOLY SPIRIT SLICER S/e)\m) + Slash UNDERWORLD LORD BLAST am + Slash 
DARK DESTROYER meee tae + C then Slash | DARK DESTROYER ee bee + 0 then Slash 
JUDGEMENT BLOW wae ic JUDGEMENT BLOW Ex ee 
[ PHOENIX FLASH == em + Slash INVITATION TO EVIL => =m + Slash 
MIASMA PLASMA eee +A MIASMA PLASMA eee +A 
SUPER DEATH STRIKE SUPER DEATH STRIKE 
LEGIONS OF HADES BLITZ ame +80 | LEGIONS OF HADES BLITZ em tew +80 


Gata Cabfie@n . sme rowdiest monk 


under the sun is burning with rage for Zankuro! 


LOGO 


a LOR 


EOSARS TART, 


Sa 


Gaira uses beads and brawn to beat baddies’ brains out! 


Gaira is the grand-child of Wachu, and an extremely unruly and ill-tem- 
pered young fighter. His fiery temperament lands him in trouble with 
Wachu, and after a coarse exchange of words, Gaira leaves the temple for- 
‘ever. Outside the confines (and magical defence) of the temple, Gaira wit- 
nesses the Devil mercilessly slaughtering an innocent, and instead of leap- 
ing to the victim's rescue, the young giant cowers in terror. After witness- 
ing such a great might and fighting spirit, Gaira realises that he is able to 
defeat this foe and gain much power, and so he resolves to destroy him. 

The largest character in Samurai Shodown 3 plays a little like his pre- 
decessor (Wan-fu), utilising grabs and throws plus a serious amount of 
pummelling from his large chain of metal balls. His Nag Blast is typical of 
his loud and aggressive manoeuvres, and his ground fireballs only sup- 
plement this view. Gaira is also the fighter most adept at throws, and is 
especially excellent at grabbing incoming air- 
borne opponents. He also has the Wan-fu 
grab /and hurl techniques that cause 
immense damage, but is a character that is 
strongest in close combat - he has no ranged 
attacks whatsoever. 


Note Gaira’s plethora of ho 
and 


(far right) 
9, Gaira 


Wan-tu, 


GAIRA’S HOME STAGE - THE TEMPLE DOJO AT SUNSET 


Gaira has booted out/Nicotine and has claimed the old man’s stage as his 
‘own, The lantern-lined steps disappear into rolling mist whilst light from the 
lanterns twinkles:in the twilight breeze. The restful silent is broken by the 
sounds of battle, as the antique lighting is destroyed by crashing samurai 
blades, and after the first round, the sun sets and the setting darkens to a 


GAIRA’S CHIVALRY TECHNIQUES deep orange. In the very last stages of the fight, the sun blinks out of exis- 
SPECIAL MOVES Bree and the scene Gia pee with floating flickering fire replacing the 
PRUDENCE PUNCH During Jump {#) +C 

100 HEAVE BODY BLOW During Jump (8) +C GAIRA’S TREACHERY TECHNIQUES 

NAG BLAST eee +A SPECIAL MOVES 

VICTORY RISER ™ 2m + Slash 100 HUNDRED DROPPER: During Jump |¥) +D 

PROFOUND PUMMEL Bam + AB NAG BLAST Hee sa 

EARTHQUAKE ASSAULT ot + AB DEADLY POKES ¥)a)™) + Slash 

CEILING SLAM GRABBER me be +a EARTHQUAKE ASSAULT oe + AB 

HARD HEAD GRABBER ete +8 HEAVENS HEART SLICER teem + AB 

REVERSE TWIRL GRAB ete +e HADES HEART SLICER Sele) + CD 

SUPER DEATH STRIKE SUPER DEATH STRIKE 

FIST FLASH DANCE Payee +48 FIST FLASH DANCE Pau +48 


54 MAXIMUM » THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


TIGENIORO 


fala 3 Seal 
tiiy 


Basar a - The fury of the wounded romantic 


lives again to avenge his murdered loved one! 


Basara witnessed the awesome destructive 
power of the Devilfirst hand when his entire town was 
decimated. He could cope with the loss of his home, 
but the Devil indiscriminately slaughtered his loved one 
and tore her spirit from the afterlife. Such was his 
mourning, that Basara felt that he himself had been 
wiped out, and a great despair.engulfed him. Pulling 
himself back from the brink of death by thoughts of revenge (and the rescue of his 
beloved’s soul from the!Devil's wrath), he summoned the darkarts to aid him, and is 
unflinching in his. devotion to kill the Devil. If thwarted, his thoughts are to feign to be 
a dead body, and catch the Devil Unawares... 

The ghoul that Basara has become is expert in throwing attacks, and mainly uses 
these heavy shuriken throws to stall opponents. He has a marvellous teleport which 
can catch an attacking foe off-guard, and his Shadow Sueker is an excellent grabbing 
attack. The teleporting chain shuriken attack is anotherfine move, and Basara has 


With evil in your eyes you must execute all your enemies! 


many other bloody attacks, making him a favourite amongst the 
more bloodthirsty players. His special attack is awesome, as he 
summons his loved one’s spirit to aid him. 


BASARA’S HOME STAGE - RUINED HOME 

Bathed in red candle-light is the dojo in Basara’s town, now in ruins 
following the Devil's attack. This is Basara's centre for channelling 
evil power and it shows - the rotting woodwork and dilapidated pan- 
els (that may be sliced apart) show the lack of care and attention as 
well as the hopelessness of Basara’s situation. After the first round, 
a gust of Supernatural wind snuffs the candles out leading to the fol. 
(eeeeese) $ lowing rounds being fought by the light of the moon, before the 

— arena disappears completely and the spirits take over. 


tion: 
Basara lau 


which is very 


BASARA’S CHIVALRY TECHNIQUES BASARA’S TREACHERY TECHNIQUES 
SPECIAL MOVES SPECIAL MOVES 
STABBING FEET During Jump (®) +D STABBING FEET During Jump (8) +D 
| FRIENDLY RIP wets oA FRIENDLY RIP eens iA 
|_ SHADOW STITCHER a Fel@ + Slash SHADOW EXIT ees + Slash 
AIRBORNE SLASH At Jump peak (S\suieb) + Slash AIRBORNE SLASH At Jump peak (B\silm) + Slash 
[GROUND SLASH Siam) + Sash GROUND SLASH Visi + Slash 
SOUL SUCKER ele 4D SOUL SUCKER Hele +0 
SOUL OF THE BEAST este +0 SHADOW PERIL miele) +A, BCorD 
SUPER DEATH STRIKE SUPER DEATH STRIKE 
‘SHADOW DANCE PAYBACK weusme . 48 SHADOW DANCE DREAM PULL eeiismie + 60 


THE VIDEO GAME MAG 


INE » MAXIMUM 55 


CHALLENGE Rao 
2 


Rimnerel. mb iets anc 


maiden who fights for her older sister! 


Rimnerel is Nakoruru's younger sister, and is a peaceful living nature-nymph, but with a 
slightly hot-headed temperament due to her immaturity. She has studied ice-magic in great 
detail, and although she does not possess the heightened powers of her chosen sister, she still 
channels her power from the miko shrine. A somewhat naive novice, Rimnerel becomes aware 
(through her astral walking) of a being known as Amakusa who is trying to destroy nature. 
While her sister attempts to save the Devil himself, Rimnerel’s own motives lead her in a deter- 
mined quest to confront Amakusa. 

Being a mistress of ice magic, Rimnerel uses freezing projectile attacks almost exclusively 
in combat. She has a stabbing ice attack, a ground freeze that causes the foe to slip and slide 
backwards (allowing Rimnerel to leap in and stab at the unbalanced opponent) and an air ice- 
ball that initially seems rather pointless, but immobilises jumping opponents. All her defensive 
moves make her very hard to strike, and her speed and wall-jumping ability makes her an 
excellent Samurai to choose. Finally, her spectacular special move is easy to pull off and fin- 
ishes a round excellently. 


EVEL. aCHEDI TSM 


Finish off foes with fearsqnre freezing fighting abilities! 
OWT soe OBS jad ~=— RIMNEREL’S HOME STAGE - NATURE’S HIDEAWAY. 


Deep in the frozen forests of the northern tundra lies.@ crystal lake of 
pure water, In a small snow-covered wooden shack lives an elderly 
man of nature, and the sensei of both Nakoruru and Rimnerel. Halfway 
through the fighting action, the old man (plus another figure and 
Nakoruru providing she isn't being 
controlled) appears from the hut to 
watch the proceedings whilst a variety 
of wild animals frolic in the snow. 
During final combat, the sky darkens to 
a deep blue and the magical mists 
descend whilst giant snowflakes softly 
float earthward. 


RIMORORO 


RIMNEREL'S CHIVALRY TECHNIQUES | RIMNEREL'S TREACHERY TECHNIQUES 

SPECIAL MOVES SPECIAL MOVES 

KONRIL SHIRA During Jump \=\4%\% +A KONRIL SHIRA During Jump \=>\4\$) +A 
KONRIL MYU Hee sd KONRIL MYU Hee +A 

LUPU QUALL ¥\a)—) + Slash LUPU QUALL Sa) + Slash 

KAMUI SHTOKKE eem +0 LUPA THORNUMU ™ +AB 

RUPU TU NU TIA a>etee +8 RUPU TU NA YAKU a atee +d) 

KONRIL NONRIL mee +A UPUN WO Slash repeatedly 

SUPER DEATH STRIKE SUPER DEATH STRIKE 

RUPU KAMUI EMYU >eieenmatee + CD RUPU KAMU! EMYU >eieenmate +00 


56 MAXIMUM * THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


a 
Shizumaru eres... eee 


TI 


peatch of the demon from his past! 


Shizumaru suffers from amnesia, and all he can remem- 
ber is a distant vision of a world stained red’ with.blood from a 
thousand lost souls. This nightmare constantly haunts him, and 
is the only, key to his childhood, except for a further vision of a 
dimly-shining bow. What can all this mean? Central to 
Shizumaru's tortured mind is a shadowy figure brandishing a 
mighty sword, and the wailing of his many victims. Seeing this 
great foe as central to unlocking his mind, Shizumaru practices 


Shizumaru can slice and stab with the Scarlet Sword ! 


phantasmagoric techniques in order to ready himself for thé upcoming com- 
bat. Despite having little memory at all, he hopes that the forthcoming fighting. 
will produce the key to unlocking his past. 

A quick and deadly fighter, Shizumaru uses a steel umbrella in the combat 
zone, which he can spin at great speeds, or stab at his victims. One of his bet- 
ter attacks is the ‘Scarlet Sword Rains of Time’ which involves him jumping 
and then hovering over the opponent before stabbing downwards with his 
umbrella. This can be repeated over and over again if the victim is willing, and 
can inflict vast damage to 
unsuspecting warriors. This 
technique and the similar 
Deadly Drizzle’ is only avail- 
able to the treacherous side of 
Shizumaru as well as the easi- 
er of the two commands that 
activate his spectacular power 
attack, the interestingly named 
‘Scarlet Sword ~ Deadly 
Downpour Slice’ 


SHIZUMARU’S HOME STAGE - BAMBOO FOREST 
Shizumaru appears to have inherited Jubei Yagu’s home in the 
forest, as combat takes place under a canopy of bamboo trees. 
Sunlight pierces the arena intermittently as leaves whistle 
around and soft chimes ring out in the background, During final 
combat, the foreground trees are 
chopped away as the sun is 
blocked out and the background 
changes to dark green 
Remember to engage in a spot of 
wood-cutting as some of the 
bamboo shoots may be chopped 
down 


SHIZUMARU’S CHIVALRY TECHNIQUES SHIZUMARU’S TREACHERY TECHNIQUES 
SPECIAL MOVES SPECIAL MOVES 
|_ DOWNPOUR THRUST et ee + Slash RAINS OF TIME During Jump \#) + C 
MIST BLADE Sa + Slash SCARLET SWORD DEADLY DRIZZLE During Jump (&) +C 
SCARLET SWORD HAILFIRE eetam A SCARLET SWORD MIST BLAST ea + Slash 
WINDSHEAR SLICE @ be + Slash | | DOWNPOUR THRUST Be + Slash 
|_CROSSCURRENT SLICER mee + Slash CROSSCURRENT SLICER meee + Slash 
SUPER DEATH STRIKE | |_.SUPER DEATH STRIKE 
HURRICANE SHREDDER SLASH aeteenrate + CD DEADLY DOWNPOUR SLICE eeu +48 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE + MAXIMUM 57 


EXTENDED: PLAY a 


j KABUKO THE REFEREE 


As many fans of the previous Shodowns are aware, the 
small shrouded figure hopping around in the background 
vigorously waving flags is the mysterious overseer of the 
tournament proceedings. Unfortunately, he has fetired 
from Shodown 3's backdrops, but makes a surprise 
appearance halfway through the one player game. 

After your fifth victorious combat has finished, this master of killer techniques bursts into view, and 
whisks you off to his private dojo for a spot of katana-wielding action in front of a number of guest ref- 
erees. However, unlike before, Kubuko refrains from adopting his ‘Tung Fu Rue’ stance, but morphs 
amazingly into your character's alter ego before engaging you in battle. This frighteningly dexterous 
‘opponent is highly difficult to defeat, but when he eventually yields, the battle to challenge the Devil 
himself becomes all the more fierce! 


A Samurai fears not death! To destroy all enemies! 
Now you must pit your sills against the tournament masters! 


y 


ZANKURO MINAZUKI - THE DEVIL 


Once all your opponents and the referee have been sliced and diced, the game's 
final and ultimate boss stomps into view. Your combat ability has attracted 
Zankuro's attention, and he seeks you out to defeat you without mercy. The pil- 
lager of the wastes has finally summoned you to his fighting temple; so sharpen 
your blade and ready yourself for the fight of your life! 
With a stunning range of special moves, coupled with strength and endurance, this 
giant warrior-god is the ultimate adversary in Samurai Shodown 3. As lighting flick- 
ers and thunder rumbles, Zankuro tightens his grip on his huge sword before 
employing a crossed-hands technique once the fighting begins. Zankuro’s main 
strengths lie in the unbelievable damage he inflicts from his sword; his most pow- 
erful hacking causes devastating amounts of wounding. The best tactic here is to 
lie low in a defensive posture, and hack at him after he jumps in to attack. Ranged 
attacks are essential here, and MAXIMUM found 
that Kyoshiro's long staff attacks work well here. 
After the normal battle has finished and you 
have proved your worth by defeating Zankuro, 
he grows angry and does not yield; despite the 
destruction of his temple arena. He challenges 
you to another round; and this time he is almost 
unstoppable, utilising his full range of special 
moves. Once again, you must overcome his 
impossible might, after which he curses your 


ZANKORQ 


existence and is banished to the ether for an 
eternity. 


The might 
glory. The 
unleashed into your domain! 


After a battle that th 
at, our dancing a 

ina trun 
nd merriment! toa 


elves would have ga 
9 Kyoshiro managed 10 defeat this giant 
dover evil, Let there be danc- 
io Kyoshiro! Well done! 


58 MAXIMUM * THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE - SAMURAI SHODOWN 3 ENDS 


About to buy a new games machine? 

Is it worth waiting? 

Yes. 

32 bit CD machines are fine, but they 
don't cut it where it really counts. 

They just don't have the power. 

This does. 64 bit power. Nintendo Ultra 64. 

The speed of silicon cartridge. 
Not i¢cD sis (y= oS wi 


NINTENDO 
You can't buy it yet. 


After all, nothing this good comes easy. \j i] | WA 
But do you really want something less = 


powerful? 


WAIT FOR IT... 


T™ and @are tr 


RETURN FIRE - Only the hardest 


can survive the Maps 0’ Death! 
THE COMPANION DISC TO 3D0 CLASSIC RETURN FIRE! 


Wartime strategy and action combine to provide an 
excellent and playable game, Choose your vehicle 
and run the gauntlet searching for that elusive flag 


The destruction involved is immense! 


Some of the levels on Maps 
0’ Death are quite a sight to 
behold (right). When you 
encounter enemy installa 
tions of this magnitude, it is 
advisable to plough a defen. 
sive tunnel and hope for the 
best! 


Maps O’ Death has finally arrived on the 3D0, and MAXIMUM has found this to be an excellent war 
‘strategy game with just the right blend of action and strategy to satisfy arcade and simulation fans alike. This 
is a 3D-viewed Desert Strike inspired title, but with a choice of four vehicles and an excellent variety of enemy 
units and gun emplacements to destroy before the flag is finally found. A mention must be made of the two- 
player mode, as although this special Extended Play doesn’t cover the two-player option, MAXIMUM has 
found it to be also outstanding apart from a slightly limiting viewpoint, but fans of the original should know 
this already. Note that this is a commendable two-player action game, and a must for Desert Strike fans. The 
following mini-guide is intended to introduce new players to the delights of this classic 3DO title, and also 
‘shows one of the sample levels from the newly released Maps O' Death expansion disc. 


BARON VON WOLFSHIELD OUTLINES YOUR COMBAT STRATEGY 

The missions you are about to undertake are some of the most hazardous known to man. You are delving 
deep into enemy territory in a desperate attempt to destroy their encampments and capture their flag. This is a for- 
midable assignment and some of you chaps won't be coming back, but remember, laying down your life for the good 
of the team is a marvellous example to one and all. Gentlemen, | salute you from my three-mile deep lead-lined 
bunker. Now get in there and grab that flag! 

The enemy is coloured green. You shall search the war area for their flag; a symbol of their power and steal it. Use 
your Helicopter, ASV (Armoured Support Vehicle) or Tank to roam the theatre of war, and then send your lightly 
armoured jeep to grab the flag itself. Scour the battlefield for the well-guarded Flag Tower and destroy it, but remem- 
ber that there are dummy towers without flags to contend with. Once the flag is in your possession, return to the 
bunker and the battle is ours! 


The three main combat vehicles all have their own 
strengths and weaknesses (sequence left), but the 
most effective seems to be the Armed Support 
Vehicle as itis fitted with excellent armour. 


ATTACK HELICOPTER 

OF THE VALKYRIES - THE VALKYRIE 
VEHICLE DATA 
NUMBER AVAILABLE: 3 


SHELLS: 100 
ROCKETS: 50 


bases is required. 


ASSOCIATED MUSIC: WAGNER - THE RIDE 


The combat copter is a joy to fly, and handles in 
exactly the same way as the Desert Strike chop- 
per. It fires a mixture of low energy wide-bursting 
shells, or high-impact rockets which can deci- 
mate entire enemy encampments. The Attack 
Helicopter is extremely useful for reconnaissance 
missions where detailed knowledge of enemy 


‘A combat vehicle takes a pummelling (above) from the surrounding turets, These 
and the pesky attack helicopters are the enemies to watch for when completing 
your level 


BROWN FOUR STANDING BY! 

In order to complete your arduous task, the Baron has 
shipped in some of the latest military hardware. Four dif- 
ferent vehicles are available, and all have their own 
‘strengths and weaknesses. Note that the numbers of 
vehicles available vary depending on the mission. 


MAPS 0’ DEATH - ADVANCE INTO ALL-NEW ENEMY STRONGHOLDS AND KILL, KILL, KILL!! 
Following the basic vehicle deployment, cunning tactics are required in order to secure the enemy flag with the 
minimum of casualties. With this in mind, MAXIMUM offers a guide to one of the new levels in Maps O' Death, 
with details of vehicle deployment and general tactics that apply to all of the missions contained in this game. 
So without further delay, let us depart to the secret island hideaway and ready ourselves for an assault on the 
mainland. Our combat zone is the secret Isle of Thunder! 


60 MAXIMUM * THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE WARNING! MAPS O’ DEATH REQUIRES ORIGINAL VERSION OF RETURN FIRE 


RETURN FIRE CLOSE-UP 


STAGE 1: HELICOPTER RECON 

After a brief studying of the combat area (both on the main map and the radar 
screen), ponder over your chosen force. It consists of one Attack Helicopter, 
two Tanks, two ASVs and three jeeps.Pick the chopper, and commence a 
sweeping search of the islands. Beware of the small irritating enemy heli- 
copters, and commence evasive manoeuvring when flying over enemy forti- 
fications. Continue in an easterly direction until you reach the south-eastern 
tip of the main island, where you'll find the green army flag base nestling in 


COMBAT TANK 
ASSOCIATED MUSIC: HOLST - 
BRINGER OF WAR - THE PLANETS 


VEHICLE DATA 
NUMBER AVAILABLE: 3 
SHELLS: 150 
ROCKETS: 0 


A fast-moving light tank is available for skirmish- 
ing attacks. This benefits from a swivelling turret 
and two different type of shells, The only problem 
is the light armour that can only deflect up to ten 
shots without being breached. The Tank should 
be used to clear a lightly defended enemy 
encampment and securing a previously attacked 
(and mostly deserted) area. 


Reports are coming in of enemy activity on the Isle of Thunder! 


the middle of a number of gun turrets. There is another base located in the 
south and one on a small north-eastern island. One of these flag bases con- 
tains the actual flag, but this varies every time you play. Remember that you 
only have enough fuel to fly to one base before returning, so bomb the flag 
base and fly back to your bunker, Try not to get caught in the cross-fire. 


Hi 


ist 
Wd 


i 
sie) 


STAGE 2: ASV EXPLORATION 

After a maximum of three sorties, your battered 
helicopter is now in need of retirement - once the 
actual flag has been located. Now you need to 
break through the enemy defences and clear a 
path to the flag base. For this you'll need one of 


ASV - ARMOURED SUPPORT 
ASSOCIATED MUSIC: GRIEG - IN THE HALL 
OF THE MOUNTAIN KING - PEER GYNT 


VEHICLE DATA 
NUMBER AVAILABLE: 3 
MISSILES: 100 
MINES; 30 


This is a slow-moving caterpillar all-terrain vehi- 
cle with huge amounts of steel armour plating. 


your ASVs. Power it up and trundle towards those 
gun turrets. Remember to use available cover (such as palm trees 
and rubble) to hide from rocket fire before securing the area. 
There are supplies of both fuel and ordinance to be found in the 
main enemy encampments, and your ASV armour should hold. 
Get as far as you can with your first ASV, and then return to the 
bunker (or sacrifice it to save some time - this is an acceptable 
loss on this stage). 


Despatch your battle team to investigate. Then kill everyone 
Blow up buildings for no reason! 


Squash sleeping 


‘With the added bonus of mine-laying, this also 
fires missiles but the main strength lies in the hits 
it can withstand. This is an excellent (if a litte 
slow-moving) piece of military hardware that 
should be sent in to clear heavily-defended 
enemy bases. 


ti can find!! 
so 


THE RETURN FIRE MAPS O’ DEATH CLOSE-UP ENDS - THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE + MAXIMUM 61 


RETURN FIRE CLOSE-UP 


a 


LIGHT JEEP 
ASSOCIATED MUSIC: RIMSKY-KORSAKOV - 
THE FLIGHT OF THE BUMBLE-BEE 


VEHICLE DATA 
NUMBER AVAILABLE: 8 
GRENADES: 16 

NO OTHER WEAPONS 


The speedy jeep is only to be used in unsecured 
areas in the direst of emergencies, as it has no 
armour and can withstand little enemy fire. The 
Jeep has other advantages apart from the excel- 
lent speed in that it can transform into an 
amphibious vehicle (thus allowing you to cross 
dark blue areas of water). This is the only vehicle 
that can pick up a flag, so use them wisely. Also 
note that the jeep's handling is poor (especially at 
speed) and the grenades are largely ineffectual. 


Seize the flag then drive your jeep over the wounded soldiers’ legs! 


em 


STAGE 3: SECURE THE AREA 

Once a dangerous path of death has been scorched from 
your bunker to the enemy flag, choose one of your tanks to 
secure the surrounding area. Now is the time to destroy gun 
turrets that are further away from the ASV's path of death, as 
these still have the range to destroy your jeep. Once a satis- 
factory roadway has been blasted (with room to manoeuvre 
either side of the central path), you may return to the bunker 
and climb into your jeep. 


STAGE 4: RACE FOR THE FLAG 

Power up your jeep and zoom off into enemy territory. Bear 
in mind that the area should now be somewhat secure, and 
that your main worry comes from the enemy helicopters that 
randomly strafe your vehicle. Providing that your heavy vehi- 
cles have done the groundwork, there should be no problem 
from opposition fire. Remember the aquatic capabilities of 
your jeep (should the flag be located on a small island), but 
don't flounder in the middle of deep water with an enemy 
chopper homing in on you, or the flag is lost! 


STAGE 5: HOME FREE 

Once you've collected the flag, race back to base with 
extreme speed and nimble dexterity and Thunder Island is yours! 
These tactics work well for many of the other levels, but remember the 
strengths and weaknesses of all your vehicles. The method for explor- 
ing and finding flags on each level should follow these guidlines, but 
bear in mind that the later levels on Maps O' Death involve very care- 
ful thought. Keep these tactics up throughout the whole of this excel- 
lent expansion disc and all shall crumble at the might of your Return 
Fire prowess! 


, 
t 


62 MAXIMUM * THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


Tank strafing is an integral part 
of the Return Fire gaming 
experience. Some of these 
turrets are extremely difficult 
to hit (especially when trees 
block your line of sight), but 
the vast majority of turrets 
must be destroyed in order for 
you to contine your mission. 


The Isle of Thunder és captured and the indigenous 
population celebrate by laying on a rather fine tick- 
er-tape parade in your honour. What stout fellows. 
This video footage accompanies every victory, 


It's 26 levels of 
car-to-car combat. 
Customize buffed 
monster-stompers 
with trick engines 
and air-grabbing 
jump jets. 


Get a load of 


, 
the chaotic death-cavade featuring 
wicked 4x4s and a blood-thirsty arsenal. 
Hate cheesy i-line across the galaxy's most intense, 
acting? Watch >) Mage = 7 
belisprerd S2-Dit texture-marved terrain, . 
gratuitous switching on the fly between COCLIDAt 
and chase view. Carefiil, though. Grabbing 
MASSIVE AUP could 


crush a kidney. Or two. 


With our unique, 
head-to-head 2 
player game, grind 
a pal’s ego into the 
asphalt. It's cruel 
But there ain't no 
2nd place 


, => DistaiBuTED BY 
ae UMTERACTIVE 
Saturn™ and PlayStation” game console. 


Available on the § 
Cy panes l 


rare: | 
DYNAMICS 


BMGie office for further details. 


X-MEN - Children of the Atom 


Head-to-Head Combat Action Game!! 
ALL-NEW FEATURES DEBUT IN SATURN VERSION! 


You just can't beat a bit of X-Men, can you? Well, Capcom would have us think just that, owing to their acqui- 
sition of the massive Marvel mutants license which resulted in this awesome Saturn fighting game. 

The story so far: the game was due for a late September release in Japan, but the game was put back until 
November 22, during which time MAXIMUM was supplied with a seven character preview disc (see issue #2 for 
the first part of the Extended Play). At the time of writing, the game has just been released, but the plans for an 
immediate European release (along the lines of Street Fighter: The Movie, which was released in record time) have 
been scuppered by Acclaim, who have bought up the game for release on these shores. Despite the game being 
totally complete, it will not be available outside of Japan until "sometime in early 1996”, This is pretty bad news, 


Behold the arcade-perfect introduction sequence! 


Ps aa Ss SEY but we're so into the game that we decided to finish off our Extended Play 
— coverage regardless. 

This month we're taking a look at the remaining characters in X-Men 
Children of the Atom along with the extra features of the completed game, 
which Capcom have designed to give the game far longer lasting appeal. As 
you can see, we're also revealing the boss characters in all their glory - 
Juggernaut and Magneto are fully controllable... if you know the secret code. 
Which we don't at the moment, unfortunately. 

Also, for details behind the genesis of this incredible Saturn title, check out 
the MAXIMUM inquisition, where we quiz the R&D masters behind this most 
awesome of 2D fighters! 


GROUB BATTLE 


THE NUNBER OF CHARACTERS 
1P zP 


Ready yourself for X-Men Team Battle confrontations! 


Capcom have a history of adding gameplay variations to their basic coin-op conversions - from Super NES Street 
Fighter Il right through to 3D. Super Street Fighter I! Turbo, Capcom have attempted to prolong the longevity of the 
solo player options as well as making it easier and more enjoyable for multiple participants. It should be noted that 
the codes to access Akuma work on alll of the different game variations. 


VERSUS MODE 
Originally conceived by Capcom for the Super NES conversion of Street 
Fighter |, this is designed to offer two-player gaming at its most convenient 
It's much like a Series of two-player bouts in Arcade Mode, only the winning 
player isn't lumbered with the same character after his victory, Both players 
4,08 L. 02 0,00: W021. 05 0.00 re-select their characters at the beginning of each bout. What is also nifty 
Kon 7M KOM | ar : about Versus Mode is that if you've entered the code to play as Akuma you 
KP KO. 08 WP Ko OB 4 don't need to re-enter it after every bout. 
XP KO0.Poa8r POY. 26r For ultimate user-friendliness in the Versus Mode department, you really need 
to be able to access the hidden screen (shown below-left) which allows you 
instant trouble-free access to Akuma. This is the only way to access auto- 


maior Xogeioelay guard Akuma, although the simple X-Attack commands don't work 


variations are. available 
Common Or garden, Versus GROUP BATTLE MODE 

Mode (above), one-player This mode is clearly inspired by the King of Fighters series on the Neo Geo 
Survival Mode (above right) Two players select a team of mutants and face off in a series of elimination 
and tothe right you'l see the bouts. Whoever Is left standing at the end of the fight(s) is deemed the win- 


Short Cut Versus screen. To 
find this screen you need to 
press the shoulder Land R 
‘buttons when the CONTINUE 


ner. It's as simple as that 


SURVIVAL MODE 


This is the new solo-player option. Whereas the arcade mode only offers a 


message appears on-screen 
aifer a bout. This cuts out a series of bouts against selected opponents, Survival Mode takes you through 

the loading and makes all 13 fighters. The difference here is that each bout is decided with just one 
everything alot simpler. round and rather than regaining all of your energy at the beginning of each 


fight, you are allocated a limited amount of extra energy depending on your 
performance in the last round. Typically, the worse you did in the previous 
game, the more you are granted 


64 MAXIMUM * THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


EXTENDED PLAY 


FIND THE HIDDEN si TREET FIGHTER!! 


Anybody who isn’t too keen on Marvel characters is bound to be slightly upset by X-Men: Children of 
the Atom. However, those particular people should be heartened by the inclusion of Akuma in the 
game. Using a special cheat (revealed later), it's possible to access one of the most powerful Street 
Fighter Il characters ever devised. All of the advantages Akuma possessed in Super Street Fighter I! 
Turbo remain in full effect in X-Men: Children of the Atom. The vast majority of Akuma’s attacks chain together, allow- 
ing players to pull off some of the most accomplished combination attacks imaginable - and it's all pretty easy, pro- 
viding that you are familiar with the special moves (listed below). Awesome. 


The legendary World Warrior pore a ae appearance!! 


@ Real Name Akuma, or Gouki @ Height & Weight 178 cm, 80 kg 
@ Eye Colour Red @ Hair Colour Red @ Origin Unknown 
@ First Appearance Super Street Fighter Turbo 


Notes Akuma’s Japanese name (Gouki) roughly translated means 
“Supreme Demon” and he is the brother of Gouken, known to US and 
European gamers as Sheng Long - the martial arts master who taught Ryu 
and Ken of Street Fighter fame. In his pursuit of power, Akuma used his 
unparalleled skills to destroy his former master and used those same techniques to kill Gouken, Although he is fas- 
cinated for some undisclosed reason with Ryu’s progress, he has taken time out from his vendetta to pursue the X- 
mutants. Although he has no special abilities or powers, Akuma is confident in his raw martial arts power - so confi- 
dent in fact that he believes that he can kill any one who stands in his way - even the master of magnetism, Magneto! 


ACCESSING AKUMA 

‘A button press cheat is needed to successfully access Akuma. 
However, in a move clearly designed to confuse players, a dif- 
ferent cheat is needed dependent on whether you are using the 
player one or player two position 


PLAYER ONE AKUMA 

Move to Spiral and after counting steadily to three, move 
between: Silver Samurai, Psylocke, Colossus, Iceman, 
Colossus, Cyclops, Wolverine, Omega Red, finishing on Silver 


.odithe sdgloppable® might of the Samurai. Wait for three seconds, then press down simultane- 
juggernaut! The Tornado Sky-Cleaving Leg (above) ‘ously: short kick (button A), heavy punch (button Z) and round- 
and the Sky-Cleaving Diving Kick (right) house kick (button C) 

r 
[THE MARTIAL ARTS OF AKUMA iti extatac pours acm foe ol vet pes 
| SPECIAL TECHMIQUES snes eee oie eae at 
|_MIGHTY WAVE FIST S/slm) + Any Punch taneously: short kick (button A), heavy punch (button Z) and roundhouse 
MIGHTY RISING DRAGON FIST > + Any Punch kick (button C). 
SCORCHING WAVE FIST ee Be) + Any Punch 
SKY-CLEAVING WAVE FIST Jump (¥ {sue} + Any Punch 
| TORNADO SKY-CLEAVING LEG Bee + Any Kick 
SKY-CLEAVING DIVING KICK Jump (¥\salm>) + Any kick 
DEMON REVERSE i Be + Any Punch 
TITAN'S SKY FLASH ES or Be + Pxsorkx3 
MAX LEVEL X-POWERS 
DESTRUCTIVE MIGHTY WAVE FIST | ¥/4#\=9)¥)44\=9) + Any Punch button 
DESTRUCTWE RISING DRAGON | Sle + Ary Punch ton | amare dom crammnae ats ein hm amcor lam 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE + MAXIMUM 65 


MUTANT FILES - Secret data 


on each fighter’s characteristics! 
PSYLOCKE 


@ Real Name Elizabeth “Betsy” Braddock 

Height & Weight 5'11”, 155 Ibs @ Eye Colour Black 
@ Hair Colour Black @ Origin Malden, England 
@ First Appearance New Mutants Annual #2 


Notes Psylocke's history is one of the most convoluted in the entire 
XMen series, which is quite surprising considering that she is one of 
the “later” characters to enroll in the mutant team supreme. Her ori- 
gin is actually in Marvel UK comics, where she debuted as the sister 
of Captain Britain (and actually became Captain Britain at one point) 

Psylocke’s powers are telepathic in nature, with her being able to 
fire off psychic bolts and fry her opponents’ minds with her psychic knife strike. In her original form, Psylocke wasn't 
much of an athlete, with little or no combat experience. However, this all changed when Spiral (working for Iron Man's 
arch foe - the Mandarin) combined Psylocke's mind and telepathic capabilities with ninja warrior Kwannon, which 
explains her current Japanese appearance. 

The combination of Psylocke's enviable mutant powers along with her ninjitsu training makes her arguably the most 
powerful character in the character. Although her special moves are limited, they offer a huge amount of combo poten- 
tial and her speed is frankly unparalleled in the game (the dash feature comes into its own here) 


Psionic powers and ninjitsu skills combine for ultimate effect! 


Keep pressing all three punch buttons while using the F 
Thru for multiple strikes! 


you get a good example of the Vector 
inherent in X-Men. Each punch button 
uces a different direction for the blast 


PSYLOCKE HOME STAGE 


MOON NIGHT - voonur ove 


Psylocke's telepathic and ninjitsu skills are put to work in this night-time 
scene. Starting out in a deep bunker, the battle begins on a scrolling platform 
on the 34th floor. The nearby scenery isn't strong enough to withstand the 
rampant power of the fighters’ techniques, causing girders to buckle dnd dis- 
integrate. After some time, the battle moves to the roof of the building, with a 
cityscape leading back as far as the eye can see. 


| THE MUTANT POWERS OF PSYLOCKE 
| SPECIAL TECHNIQUES 
PSI BLADE SPIN Elam) + Any Kick 
PSI FLASH Sam) + Any Punch 
NINJITSU Ee le + Any Punch or Kick 
MAX LEVEL X-POWERS 
Ds PSI THRUST ¥/s)—) + All three Punch buttons 


66 MAXIMUM »* THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


SPIRAL 


@ Real Name Rita 


@ Height & Weight Unknown @ Eye Colour White 
@ Hair Colour White @ Origin Mojo World 
@ First Appearance Longshot Limited Series #3 


Notes Spiral is the creation of the sinister Mojo - an other-dimen- 
sional being who lives in a world dominated by television. Mojo 
sees the life or death missions of the X-Men as unparalleled enter- 
tainment and sought to improve his ratings by introducing some 
enemies of his own for the mutant heroes to battle against. Hence 


the arrival of Spiral 


Designed as the ultimate warrior, Spiral has six arms which she can use with equal ability. She wields 
weapons (mostly knives) with a dexterity that is magnificent to behold and is also adept at manipulat- 
ing space/time, enabling her to teleport or switch position with her opponent as and when she choos- 
es. Her X-Attack is one of the most dramatic in the entire game! 

Although not a popular character at all, Spiral has all the makings of an extremely deadly fighter who 
backs up “gimmick” special moves with a dangerous style of play. 


EXTENDED PLAY 


X-Men offers @ huge amount of control over Spiral's blade-wielding 
antics. Once the blades are present, numerous throwing patterns are 
available {or use 


SPIRAL HOME STAGE 


MOJO WORLD - n exra-cimensionat worto 


One of the most striking backdrops in the game - taking place in an altogether different dimen- 
sion, Mojo. World is also one of the most fragile, The platforms on which battle takes place 
frequently shatter and there are many different levels to the stage, meaning that it's never bor- 
ing. The huge, bulbous creature grinning inanely is in actual fact a huge effigy of the evil, 
Sadistic Mojo, here displaying his rampant egomania for all to see. 


THE MUTANT POWERS OF SPIRAL 


SPECIAL TECHNIQUES 


Spiral’s spectacular super 
attack! Rapidly changing 
between all of the charac- 
ters in the game (save 
Akuma), Spiral unleashes 
terrifying amounts of dam- 
‘age on all her opponents! 
W's a dificult move to suc- 


DANCING SWORDS =>) 4) ele) + All three Punch 
THROW DANCING SWORDS Press Heavy Punch repeatedly 
SWORD TOSS ¥\a/™) + Any Punch button 
SIX-HAND GRAPPLE iS) + Any Punch button 
LEVEL 2 X-POWERS 
SWORD EXPLOSION 4) + Any Kick 
DANCE Biel) + Any button 
POWER DANCE Sele) + Light Kick cessfully execute, though 
SPEED DANCE Shele@ + Middle Kick 
DIMENSIONAL DANCE Bele + Heavy Kick 
|_SWITCH DANCE Sele + Light Punch > 
TELEPORT DANCE Be) + Middle Punch =a 
| RAPID DESCENT Biel + Heavy Punch SS we ie 
MAX LEVEL X-POWERS = 
METAMORPHOSIS Eisi=) + All Punch then throw Gasp at Spiral’s incredible X-Power! 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE « MAXIMUM 


Worried at the lack of Sentinel special 
? Don't be! The armoured war: 


sohniques that 
Laser beams 
les are just two of the non: 
special attacks on offer 


SENTINEL 


@ Real Name None @ Height & Weight Varies by design @ Eye Colour None @ Hair Colour None 
@ Origin Currently manufactured in Genosha @ First Appearance X-Men #14 


Notes The Sentinels were one of the most powerful threats the X-Men ever faced in the early days of their career, 
although their danger quickly diminished as the mutant heroes seemed to be fighting them almost constantly. These 
days, Sentinels (even the new Nimrod class) are easily despatched. The Sentinel in the X-Men game is a new model 
designed to counter every one of the XMen's capabilities. It is a lot smaller 
than the Sentinels seen in the comics, but it is packed with a huge range of 
weaponry almost undreamt of in the original series. 

The Sentinel’s special attacks are many and varied, with the likes of missiles, 
mini-robots and flying offensives in its repertoire. However, potential Sentinel 
players should not underplay the importance of the machine's basic attacks - these are every bit 
as unpredictable and ingenious as the specials. The only real weakness the Sentinel has is a vul- 
nerability to low attacks, especially in the hands of the CPU player. 


| Wiis — 
eo aot by SSS 
i 


ny 


SENTINEL HOME STAGE 


GENOSHA - te cenosHa tRap 


The Sentinel’s base of operations is a secret facility hidden on the mutant- 
enslaving island of Genosha. From here, most of the oppressive measures 
taken against mutants are instigated, including the construction of the 
Sentinels. The manufacturing process is overseen by a Sentinel known as 
Master Mold, whose electronic brain schemes for mastery of the world - even 
at the expense of the human scientists and politicians who created it. 


THE MUTANT POWERS OF SENTINEL 
SPECIAL TECHNIQUES 
ROCKET PUNCH Sa + Any Punch 
SENTINEL FORCE Sam + Any Kick 
FLYING Be) + All three Punch buttons 
BODY PRESS 4 + Heavy Punch 
en after the move has been input, it's MAX LEVEL X-POWERS 
ble to add extra power to the 
Sentinel’s powerful X-Attack PLASMA STORM ¥\)—) + All three Punch buttons 


68 MAXIMUM * THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


STORM EXTENDED PLAY | 


@ Real Name Ororo Munroe @ Height & Weight 5'11”, 127 Ibs 
@ Eye Colour White @ Hair Colour White 
@ Origin New York @ First Appearance Giant Size X-Men #1 


Notes Before realising that she was in fact a mutant, Storm enjoyed the life of an African Goddess, bestowing bless- 
ings on the native farmers of Kenya by controlling the weather for them. Therein lies her mutant skills, for Ororo is able 
to summon typhoons, rain, ice and lightning whenever she chooses. Her control of the wind is so advanced that she 
uses it to fly, manipulating the wind-currents to support her weight 

In the game, Storm specialises in fireball-style attacks (namely the Typhoon) along with her speed. Thanks to her 
wind manipulation, she hovers for the duration of the fight, adding the swiftness of the air to her already impressive 
speed, For combination enthusiasts, her lightning storm super finish is a dream come true. 


Master hidden Hyper-X Hail Storm attacks for maximum damage! 


STORM HOME STAGE 


ON THE BLACKBIRD - Prerucur sari 


The Blackbird is the X-Men's customised jet aircraft capable of super-sonic 
speeds. It's often lamented by the X-Men that they're the only mutant team not 
to have teleport capabilities, but the Blackbird jets are extremely fast and have 
limited space-faring prowess. On this stage, the battle takes place on the roof of 
the aircraft which is immensely sturdy. Unlike many of the other stages, there is 
only one level to the proceedings, but background details include a steady pro- 
gression from twilight to night. 


to eliminate your enemies! 


Summon the elements 


THE MUTANT POWERS OF STORM 
SPECIAL TECHNIQUES 
TYPHOON a5 Any Punch 
LIGHTNING ATTACK Same strength Punch and Kick 
FLYING Sjel@) + All three Punch buttons 
|_ GUST OF WIND Hee of EM + Al Kicks 
MAX LEVEL X-POWERS 
LIGHTNING STORM ¥)%)=) + All three Punch buttons 
Hl. STORM Ese Sir wag sh Senate roger a 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE + MAXIMUM 69 


SUPER VILLAINS - Preview of the toughest 


mutant masters the World has ever seen!! 


Once you have defeated a selection of the game's characters in battle, two more X-Enemies arrive to wreak havoc. 
The Juggernaut and Magneto are two of the most powerful foes the X-Men have ever faced, Magneto's mutant 
powers of magnetic mastery allows him a huge scope of attacks designed to surprise - and then destroy you! 
Juggernaut relies on his own so-called invulnerability and bludgeoning prowess to get the job done, MAXIMUM. 
can reveal that both characters can be player-controlled, And we'll be revealing how along with a full range of their 
attacks in the next issue. 


JUGGERNAUT .-1'm UNSTOPPABLE! 


Pra to be flattened by the incredible JUGGERNAUT HEADCRUSH! 


Juggernaut stands with Akuma, Spiral and the Sentinel in that he isn't actu- 
ally a mutant at all - even though he is the half-brother of Charles Xavier - 
reputedly, the most powerful mutant mind on Earth. He gained his powers by 
seizing the crimson ruby of Cytorrak, which transformed him into a huge, vir- 
tually unstoppable power-house - distinguished by the fact that he is one of 
the only mortal beings in existence to withstand the bludgeoning power of 
the incredible Hulk 

Juggernaut's immense size and unstoppable attacks make him a deadly 
opponent, although in the game, his bulkiness is a disadvantage, and he's 


7s 


easily taken down by Cyclops. 


First in a series of CAPCOM R&D INTERVIEWS 
MAXIMUM expose X-Men development data! 


During the maximum trip to the 
Shoshinkai show this month, we took 
time out to visit the Japanese headquar- 
ters of Capcom to talk to the creators of 
‘Sega Saturn X-Men: Children of the Atom. 
Situated in Shinjuku in Tokyo, the HO we 
visited is in actual fact just one of the 
bases owned by Capcom and is dedicat: 
ed solely to marketing, hence a huge dis- 
play in the lobby showing the gargantuan 
array of Capcom merchandising available 
(and extremely popular) in Japan. 

All research and development is car. 
ried out in a separate base of operations 
located in Osaka. We spoke to Tatsuya 
Minami, Senior Manager of the Product 
Planning and Design Section of the 
Consumer Game Department who trav 
elled over to Tokyo to talk to us. He gave 
us a fascinating insight into the processes 
behind what is without a doubt one of the 
greatest fighting games available on any 
home system. Here's a complete, 
unabridged account of our discussions. 


ya Minami is one-of-the men responsible for 
inging coin-op hits like X-Men, Street Fighter 
Alpha and. Darkstalkers onto the home next genera: 
tion platforms, 


“We looked at the level of awareness generated by 
X-Men in the arcades and decided from there whether or 
not a conversion would be suitable.” 


70 MAXIMUM «* THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


MAXIMUM How did you choose which x 
Men you wanted for the Children of the 
Atom coin-op? 

Mr Minami On the whole we had a certain 
strategy for choosing possible candi 
dates. Out of those we selected as candi 
dates, we went for the characters which 
could be brought out easily and those 
which could be used easily against oth 
ers. There are also some which although 
easy to use were struck off because they 
did not work in the game. 


MAXIMUM Which ones were they? 
Mr Minami For reasons concerning our 
connection with Marvel, | can't say. 


MAXIMUM What research went into the 
production of the Saturn conversion of X 
Men? 

Mr Minami Firstly we researched the 
Saturn market to see what extent the 
users would take note of the X-Men sub: 
ject matter. We also looked at the level of 
awareness generated by XMen in the 
arcades and decided from there whether 
‘oF not a conversion would be suitable. 


MAXIMUM Let's move on to the charac- 
ters themselves. Take Wolverine for exam- 
ple - how did you understand how he 


moved and how did you animate him in 
the game? What materials did you use 
which allowed you to get a feel for how he 
should move? 

Mr Minami This is difficult! There is a 
comic version of Wolverine and Marvel 
Itself had ideas on how he moves, When 
transferring this to the game, we had firm 
opinions on how to bring him to life, 
which we discussed with Marvel. It didn't 
always go well and a for along time there 
were some fierce debates. But eventually, 
after much explaining, we got them to 
agree to how the character should move. 
This stubbornness from the game's pro. 
ducers, the licensee, and the insistence 
on their ideas was a new experience for 


us. 


EXTENDED PLAY 


MAGNETO - You DARE RISE AGAINST ME? 
Only the strongest heroes can withstand the power of the MAGNETIC SHOCKWAVE! 


Eric Lensherr grew up with oppression, watching his family die in the Nazi 
concentration camps during the Second World War. He sees the current vic- 
timisation of mutants as being too similar to the persecution of ethnic minori- 
ties during the war and has vowed to use his powers to defend his race. 
Magneto sees war between humans and mutants as becoming increasingly 
inevitable, and he truly believes that his huge array of magnetic powers can 


bring about the end of humanity. 


That might sound far-fetched, until you see Magneto in action during this 
game! His mastery of anything metal allows him to concentrate iron mole- 


cules around your body with 
but a thought, or he can just 
summon up great chunks of 
debris to fire at you. His pow- 
ers also allow for a powerful 
shield and razor-sharp mag- 
Netic bolts, making him the 
undisputed master of the 
mutant race - and the X-Men’s 
deadliest enemy! 


“In the contract with Marvel, one condition was that we would include one character from Street Fighter. 
We wanted to concentrate on the X-Men and didn’t want to use Ryu or Ken, so we settled on Akuma.” 


MAXIMUM Did any character cause more 
problems than any of the others in regard 
to translating him into the game? Was 
Wolverine the most complicated charac- 
ter with regard to co-operation from 
Marvel? 

Mr Minami They were all difficult, but | 
think from the image aspect, they all fitted 
our image of how they should be brought 
to life, In particular, the overseas users 
would have their own views on the X Men 
characters and we did worry about show: 
ing them as they would be imagined 


MAXIMUM Our staff includes a big Marvel 
fan and there were no complaints at all 
about the authenticity of the characters. 
You've taken four of the X-Men - Psylocke, 
Wolverine, Magneto and the Juggernaut 
into Marvel Super Heroes. Why was that? 
Were these four the most popular? 

Mr Minami These four characters 
appeared in the Infinity Gauntlet comics. 
However, after all of our research, these 
four stood out relatively as very popular 
characters, So we had them appear [in 
Marvel Super Heroes]. 


MAXIMUM The Infinity Gauntlet featured 
a huge amount of Marvel heroes - just 
about all of them, in fact. How did you go 


about selecting which ones you were 
going to use? 

Mr Minami We went for those characters 
with the most impact - those most suitable 
for an action game. Then, of course, there 


were Marvel's wishes [to take into 
account]. This time we wanted to use 
really famous characters - not just the X- 
Men - but those representative of Marvel 
such as Spider-Man, The Hulk and 
Captain America 


MAXIMUM Does the Saturn version of X- 
Men feature Akuma? 
Mr Minami Yes! 


MAXIMUM Why was he selected as a 
secret character in the coin-op? 


Mr Minami in the contract with Marvel, 
‘one condition was that we would include 
‘one character from Street Fighter to 
include with the Men, We wanted to 
concentrate on the XMen and didn't want 
to use either Ryu or Ken, so we Settled on 
Gouki (Akuma). 


MAXIMUM We've heard that Akuma is 
hidden in Marvel Super Heroes, along 
with another secret guest star. Is this true? 
Mr Minami One is Gouki 


MAXIMUM Is the other Ryu? 
Mr Minami Probably... This information 
has not even been released in Japan yet. 


MAXIMUM What are the main differences 
between the arcade and Saturn versions? 
Are there some things you were disap: 
pointed you couldn't do? 

Mr Minami Yes there are. However, on the 
plus side we put in original modes for the 
consumer version. In the arcades, players 
just put in 100 yen for a short game, so 
we put in a long-playing mode. On the 
minus side, we had problems with the 
Saturn hardware. There is only two 
megabytes of memory for loading into. 
This is true not just with the Saturn but for 
all of the CD-ROM machines, like the 


3D0 and the PlayStation... Converting 
games like XMen and DarkStalkers is dif- 
ficult because a lot of RAM is required. X- 
Men has 32 megabytes just for character 
data, meaning that we have to compress 
it when ideally we'd like to double it 


MAXIMUM Does that mean that future 
conversions will be even harder? For 
example Marvel Super Heroes is an even 
more complicated game than X-Men 
Does this mean that as you develop more 
powerful coin-ops, the conversions will be 
less similar? 

Mr Minami We will make an effort. 


MAXIMUM A‘e there any additions to the 
Saturn version? Obviously the most 
important question regards whether you 
are able to play as the bosses - Magneto 
and the Juggernaut? 

Mr Minami There is a secret mode, but 
this is confidential at the moment. 


MAXIMUM When will it be announced? 
Mr Minami It's not such a difficult thing to 
find - after a week or so, people will find it 


MAXIMUM So it's similar to accessing 
Akuma...? 
Mr Minami Yes. 


X-MEN ENDS - THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE * MAXIMUM 71 


_ EXTENDED PLAY | 
|SS |vineruia'rianerem 2 


a 


IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF GAMEPLAY AND FEATURES GZ 


What is the greatest Sega Saturn game in existence? The answer is remarkably obvious - AM2’s Virtua Fighter 2 is by far and 
away the best fighting game around, and its technical achievements and gameplay make it the most awesome Saturn game avail- 
able today. And hey, even the PAL conversion’s cool as well! 

Last month, we printed a basic overview of Virtua Fighter 2's new features; this issue we go into the new gameplay features 
behind VF. We examine the extra realism AM2 have grafted into their latest fighting game and we probe deeply into the roots of 
combination attacks. And also, as promised in the last issue, we finish off our basic character profiles. This month, Kage, Sarah, 
Shun, Wolf and Lau are exposed in true MAXIMUM style. 

For any one in doubt about the power of Virtua Fighter 2, we direct you with all due haste to page 140, where the game is 
reviewed. How close a conversion is it? Is everything from the coin-op in it? Is the sound really as awful as everyone on the Internet 
says it is? Rely on MAXIMUM for totally impartial criticism on the most important release in the Saturn's history. 


VIRTUA FIGHTER 2 - What is it that 
makes this the greatest game ever? 


@ PAL conversion tested! Full details and first PAL review in this issue! 
@ Saturn-specific features improve the VF package still further! 


A decent PAL conversion can make or break a fighting game - witness 
Tekken, which although good on PAL is somewhat lacking when compared 
to the arcade and NTSC PlayStation versions. 

MAXIMUM has now played a complete PAL conversion of Saturn Virtua 
Fighter 2 and it must be said that AM2 have performed miracles in their 
conversion, There are huge PAL borders on the player select screens, but 
once you are into the game proper, prepare to be amazed. The borders are 
reduced to an absolute minimum and amazingly, all (and 
we mean all) of the speed of the NTSC game has been [4 
converted across perfectly. Timing is all-important when it 
comes to combination attacks and again, this is exactly as 
it should be. Usually, the speed of the product is immediately noticeable as being slow- 
er when viewing any PAL conversion, but the conversion work here is so good, it's 
extremely difficult to tell any difference whatsoever. 

The only slight downer is the fact that there are the borders on the select screen 
(which shows what we could have been lumbered with no PAL optimisation), but where 
it counts, Virtua Fighter 2 remains an uncanny conversion. So, it's hats off to AM2 for 
treating European fans with as much respect as their Japanese brethren. 


THE TIMING OF VIRTUA FIGHTER 
Virtua Fighter runs at twice the speed update of its predecessor, clocking in at a mighty 60 frames a sec- 
ond, if you own the NTSC version (that's an update of 0.012 seconds). The execution of special moves 
is calculated by performing the various button motions within a specified number of frames per move. 
For example, Akira’s Stun Palm of Doom manoeuvre gives you a full 60 frames to execute its three com- 
ponent parts (that's one entire second), whilst his knee attack gives a lot less, It's activated with K+G 
followed by another quick G. When we say quick, we mean one frame quick! Moves which 
are quite flexible in their timing can be performed at different speeds. Taking Akira as an 
example again, his dashing body check (B-F-F-P+K) can be performed at various speeds. 
By taking more time over the F-F part of the move, Akira can be made to charge at a 
greater distance, So, the timing of moves is highly important. 


ANALYSIS OF ATTACKS 

It's important to grasp the way the attacking system works in Virtua Fighter 2, if you are 
going to master the subtle art of the counter-attack. Every single offensive strike in VF can 
be split into three distinct sections. 

1. Attack Generation Just like Virtua Cop, VF2 feature 
This is the event of initiating the attack - be it just by pressing the kick button or entering ay all-/ew in 
B-F-F-P+K for Akira’s dashing body check special move, for example. During this time, _boasis some 
you are quite vulnerable and an opponent can counter by producing an attack that's quick- haracter mo 
er to execute than yours (often you will see a move stopped cold by a simple punch). lygons into V2 textured finery 
2. Continuous Attacking Power san pte 
This part of the attack usually lasts between two and five frames - and unless your oppo- 
nent has timed his attack to hit you at exactly the same time you should hit and be invul- 
nerable at the same time. 

3. Recovery Time 

This is the most critical part of your attack. After the destructive force of the attack has been 
unleashed, your character needs some recovery time before he/she can attack again. It's 
particularly lengthy after special attacks - again, Akira's specials are some of the longest, 
although Jeffry and Wolf are well known for their prolonged attack recovery times. 
Instinctively knowing the recovery time of each attack is essential in mastering VF2's com- 
bination attack system 


ence which 
cellent FMV. Eact 


hs from VFI flat 


moves on a witelrame rendition 


74 MAXIMUM =» THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


TMT 


dus avinnin’ 


Game refinements take Virtua Fighter beyond anything around today! 


INTRODUCING AXIS MOVEMENT 

Virtua Fighter has been criticised as being a 2D beat ‘em up in 3D clothing 
- something we take issue with vehemently. Perhaps it could be argued that 
it was lacking something in VF1, but in the sequel, all manner of spins and 
avoidance tactics make use of the third dimension. Foremost amongst 
them in this regard are Lion and Shun - the two newcomers. 

Both of them feature Axis Movement commands, which enable them to 
dodge out of the way from an incoming attack and then counter-strike. 
Using the G button in combination with diagonal down/forward or 
down/away performs the necessary moves. In Virtua Fighter 2, the charac- 
ters dodge 30 degrees around and can still be tagged by a throw or com- 
bination, This brings the usefulness of the attacks down considerably. This 
has been remedied in the superior version 2.1, which increases the range 


of the Axis Movement to a more wholesome 45 degrees and does not allow opponents to turn towards 
Shun or Lion mid-attack. This makes using the newcomers a lot more satisfying in version 2.1 


THROW REVERSALS 


ing P+G is the means to that end. 


EXTENDED PLAY 


Everyone knows how to do P+G throws. Just waltz in close 
and press P+G for instant results. Every fighter has such a 
throw and they're all cheesy. Luckily, you can reverse these 
throws by pressing P+G together at exactly the same time as 

your opponent - and what's more, this also puts you in a posi- jive 
tion to attack without mercy. If you're playing a cheesy oppo- iz 
nent, it's best to instinctively press down P+G for every combi- Ci 
nation attack or special move that is blocked. The most effec- 

tive abuse of your recovery time is to throw quickly and press- 


Throw reversals are a new VF2 feature which is expanded upon 
in the Saturn conversion. Examine the Watch Mode and you 


may notice that some characters can actually achieve throw-reversals on non-cheesy moves such as fy reel 


Splash Mountain. Expect to learn these moves shortly. 


REVERSE ATTACKS 
These attacks are limited to the following characters: Lion, 
Shun, Jacky, Sarah and Kage. By pressing back twice fol- 
lowed by either punch or kick, the chosen fighter turns 
his/her back on the opponent and from here, a number of dif- 
ferent attacks are possible. The next time a punch or kick 
button is pressed, the fighter turns back around and attacks. 
The advantages of these attacks are not readily apparent, 
although in a two-player bout, it can serve to disorientate the 
opponent. It's best to practise with your chosen character 
and see what attacks you can string together. For example, 
initiating Sarah's reverse with a kick and then kicking again 
can produce a pretty effective floating two-hit 
combination which has plenty of range. One 
word of warning to potential users of the reverse 
the CPU Jeffry seems to dodge alll attacks of this 
type with ease and almost always retaliates with 
his fearsome back-breaker. Stick to convention- 
al mid-level attacks and don't try to be too clever. 


POUNCE EXPANSION 

This is another area of Virtua Fighter 2 which has 
been expanded a great deal since the first 
game. In the preceding game, everyone had 
moves to pulverise prone opponents, but only 
Akira and Pai had quick punches which could 
incur extra damage on foes who were quick to 


MORE VIRTUA FIGHTER 2 OVER 7! 


rise. In Virtua Fighter 2, everyone save Lion and Shun now has such an 
attack, and it's activated with down/forward and either punch or kick 
depending on the character chosen. Refer to the appropriate character 
profile for full information. 


VIRTUA FIGHTER 2 CENSORED! OR IS IT? 
If you have access to the Internet, you'll see that a huge amount of contro- 
versy is currently in the offing thanks to minor differences between the 
Japanese, American and European versions of the game. Basically it all 
amounts to Shun Di's heavy drinking activities 
For some bizarre reason in the USA and European versions, there is no 
visual indication of Shun getting progressively more drunk. In the 
Japanese game, every time Shun takes a swig from his bottle, his skin 
turns ever-so-slightly redder, resulting in a crimson visage being evident by 
the end of the bout. Shun’s extra drinking allows him to access more effec- 
tive special moves and increases the power of his attacks. The changing 
skin tone is the only change - contrary to what is on the 'Net, Shun retains 
Wn Virtua Figh | his extra power and special moves and his bottle is still very much in evidence. 
bugs. ha The question has to be, why bother with the change? Surely it would have saved AM2 time in con- 

i i verting everything over lock, stock and barrel. It looks like being one of those strange mysteries for the 

woven, the b files of Arthur C Clarke... 


ALL-NEW GAME COMPLETION SCREENS NOW ADDED! 

As well as including the game completion sequence from the arcade version (which featured replays of 
all your bouts, with ghosting effects on the animation), Virtua Fighter 2 also includes game completion 
“Congratulations!” screens to admire. There are two screens per character, with the screen you get 
dependent on the clothes you were wearing when you finished the game. If you wish to access you 
fighter's alternative clothing (the “away strip” as it were - which is often better looking than the default 
look), simply press and hold up when you are selecting your character. 


WHAT IS VIRTUA FIGHTER 2.1? 

You've read the reviews - you've seen everyone go crazy about the fact that Saturn VF2 features an 
additional conversion of pseudo-sequel Virtua Fighter 2.1 - but has any one actually told you what it is 
all about? Answer: No. Well, this is the total full-on list of changes made to the game once 2.1 is select- 
ed. To tell the truth, you'd have to be pretty masterful at the game to notice the difference, but it does 
make for much more exciting battles at a fundamental level, particularly for Lion and Shun players. 
Special thanks go out from MAXIMUM to Joji Suzuki 
for the most in-depth 2.1 analysis ever seen! Small 
changes have been made to each character in addi- 
tion to this list, but we simply haven't got room to list 
all of them, Basically what it boils down to is some 
moves being longer to recover from whilst other 
attacks (particularly throws and counters) are easier 
to execute. For more exciting battles, MAXIMUM rec- 
ommends immediate graduation to version 2.1! 


1. No more multiple back dashes! 

An easy, cheesy way for the fast characters to dodge 
out of battle in 2.0 is to constantly dodge backwards 
with multiple back dashes, which you can “buffer” 
This is no longer the case in 2.1. Additionally, if you 
are hit when back-dashing, you stagger, leaving you 
momentarily vulnerable to attack 

2. Cheesy PK knock-downs no longer work! 

For some of the more aggressive combo-orientated 
characters, a quick PK combo was an easy way to 
score a knock-down, leaving the opponent open to a 
pounce. This no longer works. A PK from Lau, Shun, 
Lion or Pai causes the opponent to stagger, but the 
recovery time is so long that it cannot be strung into 
a combo, 

3. Recover from staggering blows! 

In a move to shake out from stagger-based combina- 
tions, players can hold down the guard button and 
waggle the d-pad left and right to regain control and 
disrupt possible combos from the likes of Lion, Kage 
and Lau 


76 MAXIMUM * THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


EXTENDED PLAY 


Game refinements take Virtua Fighter heyond anything around today! 


4. Dash ranges altered! 

In version 2.0, when you run at an opponent, you stopped three metres in front of them. For 2.1, this 
has been reduced to one-and-a-half metres, meaning that throw-based characters like Wolf and Jeffry 
can dash ‘n’ throw! 

5. Kick timing changed! 

In Virtua Fighter 2.0 it's possible to retract kicks once you've executed them. In fact, Akira and Jacky 
can retract the kick even when it has connected, meaning no recovery time! The time allowed for retrac- 
tion has been cut down by a third and the aforementioned characters can no longer kick and retract 
6. Self knock-downs punished! 

Characters like Shun and Jeffry who can initiate moves that end up with them prone on the ground are 
penalised. If an opponent pounces on them after these voluntary knock-downs, the damage is 1.75 
times larger. 

7. Minor counters inflict less damage! 

Pretty much speaks for itself really - this is only a very small change 
which most people are unlikely to notice 

8. Axis moves are now actually useful! 

Shun and Lion have dodges that allegedly allow them to dodge past 
attacks and counter - these are called Axis Attacks. In version 2.0, the 
characters only dodge 30 degrees, and opponents can correct their 
stance and still successfully throw. In 2.1, both characters now dodge 45 
degrees around their opponent, enabling them to dodge PPPK combos 
and immediately counter-strike! 


CONTROL DURAL! 

The Saturn version of Virtua Fighter 2 enables you to control Dural in 
much the same way as VF1. However, this time there are TWO Dural 
codes, each of which provides you with a J6 Syndicate robot with a dif- 
ferent paint job! Dural has been kitted out with a huge range of moves, 
80 it's best to try out as many of the other characters’ moves as possi- 
ble. Dural also has one all-new move which 
nobody else in the game possesses - it's an air- 
borne kick activated with F-F-K+G. 


LOCATE THE HIDDEN OPTIONS SCREEN! 

This hidden option screen is pretty much an open 

secret - what you need to do is complete the 

game on Expert Mode to trigger the appearance 

of these selectables. It doesn't matter how many 

continues you use in completing Expert Mode, it 

always appears once Dural has been defeated. A 

helpful tip is to attempt Expert Mode on your very 

first game. This is the mode that uses your best 

tactics against you, so it's logical to assume that if you haven't contributed to the CPU's intelligence, it f 
will be very easy to defeat. For the easiest possible route through (the cheesiest in other words), use 
Sarah, Pai or Lion and consistently use P-+G throws on your opponents. Even Dural 
should pose no problem here. Just make sure nobody's watching or forever be tor- OPTION + 

f mented for your lack of VF2 skills! (serve a 

To find the options screen, select OPTIONS on the main menu and press the EL bat 

shoulder R button twice. 


NEXT MONTH 

The top-notch Virtua Fighter 2 coverage continues apace! With basic techniques out 
of the way, we go in-depth on each character, probing their combination potential in 
ways you can only dream about. How does a thirteen-hit Lau combination strike you? 
Or indeed a six-hit Jeffry destroyer? We have VF2 techniques to make your play up 
there with the gods! Only MAXIMUM has the answers along with the complete 
moves list to end them all! 


MORE VIRTUA FIGHTER 2 PROFILES OVER THE PAGE THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE + MAXIMUM 77 


SARAH BRYANT 


VIRTUA FIGHTER 2- Character Profile 


@ COUNTRY USA @ SEX FEMALE @ BIRTHDAY JULY 4 @ AGE 21 
@ BLOOD TYPE AB @ HEIGHT 173 cm @ WEIGHT 55 ky @ FIGHTING STYLE JEET KUNE 
@ JOB COLLEGE STUDENT @ HOBBY § ING 


Sarah is inquisitive by nature, and sought to find out the full truth behind the “accident” that temporarily crippled 
her brother Jacky in the 1990 Indy 500 race. The trail led her to the J6 Syndicate, who abducted her, Through a 
process of painful brainwashing, the Syndicate turned her against Jacky and used her innate fighting abilities to turn 
her into the fastest, deadliest fighter alive. Her mission to kill Jacky in the first Virtua Fighter tournament failed, 
although she become the runner-up in the first competition behind Lau Chan. 

In the interim period between the two Virtua Fighter contests, Sarah Bryant has remained in the mental thrall of the 
J6 Syndicate, who once again wish her to kill her own brother in the VF tournament. Although her fighting skills were 
formidable in the first game, Sarah is now even more powerful. Her speed rivals Pai’s and Lion's, and her sheer 
aggression makes her one of the most powerful fighters in the game. 

In Virtua Fighter 2, Sarah relies greatly on her new range of kicks; her punches are generally only used to initiate 
her powerful combinations, which have been refined and improved upon since the first tournament. Although her 
skills remain somewhat mechanical and predictable, you can't argue with results - completing the game is achieved 
with most ease by mastering Sarah 


WINNING QUOTES 


Better run home to momma now! 


Even good guys blow it sometimes [laughs] 
Yahoo! 


MAXIMUM * THE VIDEO GAME Wv 


EXTENDED PLAY | 


LOSING QUOTES | 


Fancy being beaten by this fellow! 


WOLF HAWKFIELD 


VIRTUA FIGHTER 2- Character Profile y 


@ COUNTRY CANADA @ SEX MALE @ BIRTHDAY FEBRUARY 8 @ AGE 28 ~ 
@ BLOOD TYPE () @ HEIGHT 181 cm @ WEIGHT 110 kg @ FIGHTING STYLE PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING 
@ JOB WRESTLER @ HOBBY KARAOKE 


Before the first Virtua Fighter tournament, Wolf was a hunter - a man who lived in the Canadian woodlands, living 
off the land. This was until he was discovered by a wrestling scout, who realised that Wolf's incredible physique and 
combat prowess would make him a great hit in the pro-wrestling arena, Several months on and Wolf became the 
undisputed world champion, easily beating off all challengers to his numerous titles, This dissatisfaction with the level 
of competition forced him to enter the first VF tournament which resulted in humiliation. He was easily taken down by 
Akira Yuki and he has spent the last year improving his strength, speed and techniques. Now, as the second tourna- 
ment is announced, he feels ready to try again. 

Any one can see that in terms of size, he’s absolutely huge - just like Jeffry he is far larger than he was in the first 
VF tournament. He's also kitted out with a range of new moves, which are actually activated in similar ways to his 
throws. This means that if you do not successfully execute a throw, there is a good chance that one of his best 
close-range attacks will strike home. Although his punches do not seem as versatile as Jeffry's, do not discount 
him. Wolf's advantage lies in range - although he's great at throws and some close-range attacks, his sheer size 
means he is just as good at ranged attacks. A powerful fighter, but his dream of defeating Akira is likely to end 
in disaster.. 


- = 
ark 


80 MAXIMUM + THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


EXTENDED PLAY 


Q 
WINNING QUOTES 


Come back again in about a year! 


Oh to picture 1 


| && it 
LOSING QUOTES 


So... There was someone stronger then me... 


lust onc 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE * MAXIMUM 81 


KAGE-MARU 


VIRTUA FIGHTER 2- Character Profile 


@ COUNTRY JAPAN @ SEX VALE @ BIRTHDAY JUNE 6 @ AGE 24 
@ BLOOD TYPE 8 @ HEIGHT @ WEIGHT 66 kg @ FIGHTING STYLE JU 
@ JOB NINJA @ HOBBY MMA 


Kage is tenth generation Kage-Maru of the Hagakure clan, who was forced into bitter revenge when one day he 
returned home to discover that his village had been razed to the ground. His mother was kidnapped and his father 
died before him as he was felled by an assassin’s bullet. Kage is determined to find the culprits and wreak a terrible 
vengeance. He quickly discovers that the organisation behind these acts is the J6 Syndicate, who were eager to add 
the fighting secrets of Kage's ancestors to their already huge fighting knowledge. In fact, many rumours suggest that 
the Dural robot is based around Kage's abducted mother and its moves in VF1 do suggest a similarity in style. 

Like Akira, Kage has been radically upgraded since his first appearance in VF1. Although he is still viewed by some 
as being something of a good all-rounder with a move for all occasions, in actual fact, he's best suited to range 
attacks, as he can attack at many different heights and thus confuse his enemies. In terms of combination strikes, 
he's a bit useful. Although he has a kickflip combo, it is one of the weakest in the game, best used in conjunction with 
the infamous B-P ten-foot toss. 

Players may find him difficult to get the hang of, but rest assured, it's even more difficult for his opponents to get 
to grips with his unique style. 


VG 


WINNING QUOTES 
Untith 


Net enough training! 
Dear Buddha...! 
[Translated from Japanese] 


LOSING QUOTES 
Well, goodbye then...! 


LAU CHAN 


VIRTUA FIGHTER 2- Character Profile 


@ COUNTRY CHINA @ SEX MALE @ BIRTHDAY OCTOBER 2 @ AGE 54 
@ BLOOD TYPE 8 @ HEIGHT 172 cm @ WEIGHT 77 kg @ FIGHTING STYLE LOEN-KEN 
@ JOB COOK @ HOBBY CHINESE POETRY 


Lau is flushed with victory after having defeated all-comers and securing the Virtua Fighter tournament. Despite 
powerful challenges from his daughter Pai and the particularly troublesome Sarah Bryant, Lau Chan's combination 
attacking skills proved to be the undoing of his opponents. His winning of the title enabled him to take over as mas- 
ter at his martial arts school, but even this was not enough for him and he retreated to the mountains, seeking to 
develop his killing techniques still further. The invitation to participate in the second Virtua Fighter tournament reach- 
es him just as he completes his training. Seeking to pit his advanced Koen-Ken techniques against the world again, 
Lau leaves his sanctuary and prepares to do battle! 

Anyone hoping for a radical change in Lau’s style is likely to be disappointed. His skill lies in scooping up an oppo- 
nent into the air and then unleashing a torrent of punches, which he can finish off in whatever way he desires. In terms 
of combination prowess, Lau is unrivalled - expert players might be aware of his frankly stunning 13-hit combo, the 
biggest in the game. 

The only problems Lau is likely to face come from counter-attacking foes such as Pai, Akira and Kage. He relies so 
heavily on initiating attacks with running punches that this leaves him extremely vulnerable to counters - Akira in par- 
ticular has the power to take him down with relative ease. 


WINNING QUOTES 


| should have a few more little tricks! 


! haven't put in enough training! 
[Translated from Japanese] 


84 MAXIMUM »* THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


LOSING QUOTES 2323 


How awful to lose to one so young! ~~ asa 


MAXIMUM 85 


SHUN DI 


VIRTUA FIGHTER 2.- Character Profile 


@ COUNTRY CHINA @ SEX MALE @ BIRTHDAY JAN @ AGE 82 
@ BLOOD TYPE 0) @ HEIGHT 164 cm @ WEIGHT 63 kg @ FIGHTING STYLE DRUN) 
@ JOB HERBAL DOCTOR @ HOBBY OFIN 


UNG FU 


This unassuming little man with the drinking problem doesn't look like much to many people. However, in actu- 
al fact he runs one of the toughest, most gruelling martial arts training halls in North China and many of the world’s 
greatest fighters owe a great deal of their success to Shun. These days, he doesn't train that often, but while drink- 
ing with his other elderly martial arts teachers, he learns of the success enjoyed by one of their students: Akira Yuki 
On a whim, he suddenly decides to enter the second Virtua Fighter tournament, despite the advice of his peers 

Shun's great strength is his sheer unpredictability - nobody can effectively guess what the old guy's next move will 
be simply because it's possible for him to move smoothly between one technique and the next without any delay. He 
also manages to pull off many different moves that are effectively mini-counter attacks. This is down to his size a lot 
of the time (he can punch under his opponent's punches), but it's well worth getting to know the full repertoire of 
Shun's attacks 

For a competitor that's seemingly impossible to seriously consider, Shun is something of a surprise - great against 
other human challengers, but not so hot against the CPU player. 


86 MAXIMUM = THE VIDEO GAME lV 


| EXTENDED PLAY | 


LOSING QUOTES 
Next time, be ne gente! 


EW UPDATE OF COIN-OP CLASSIC * 
AC TEKKEN 2 TH 


88 MAXIMUM = THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE TEKKEN 2 VER.B ARJWORK © NAMCO 1994, 1995 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 


MAXIMUM'’s comprehensive Tekken 2 guide continues, and in this 
final instalment we detail another five diverse characters as well as offering 
further snippets of information on all manner of interesting features that this 
game has in abundance. The biggest new facts we have concern the 
upgrade which has superseded the first version after only two and a half 
months, This new version features a number of tweaks and more subtle 
changes, including the upgrading of controls and the levelling of unbalanced 


| EXTENDED PLAY | 


Tekken 2 Ver.B recieves limited release in 
selected arcades around the country! 


characters’ abilities. King (the all too proficient wrestler) in particular has been 
noticeably toned-down, whilst the sub-bosses themselves have a greater 
variety of moves. But the most exciting news of all concerns the playable 
bosses; as both Armor King and Wang are initially selectable, with more 
bosses being added after a time-delay. 

Other differences include a change to the title screen. In the previous ver- 
sion, Kazuya's looming visage appeared after a certain combination had 
been inputted, but now the title screen is available from the start, as are the 
words ‘Ver B on all the demonstration bouts and main title: This is what you 
should check for to ensure that you're playing the enhanced version of 
Tekken 2. The final cosmetic change occurs during the fight itself, as the mark 
indicating the bout wins have changed from red to green, and this leads to a 
clear indication of who is winning after the first round. 

The game system itself has undergone a slight overhaul, but this has been 
mainly confined to changes in the way characters are damaged after a floor. 
ing. When attacking a prone character, any damage causes the victim to 
bounce lightly whether they are lying face down or face up. With careful tim: 
ing, a downed character can rise from a flooring almost immediately (leading 
to a quick and more intense combat), compared to the lengthy wait endured 
by the victim in the first Tekken 2 incarnation whilst a number of extra (and 
mostly cheap) hits occurred. Be warned that characters getting up are sus- 
ceptible to normal attacks that result in a heavy bounce, but with expert tim: 
ing, a master combatant may shrug off a pummelling to surprise a foe. 


ROGER and ALEX enter the arena! 
Fierce combatants from the animal world! 


Despite his appearance, Alex is best described as a 
hybrid of King and Heihachi, sharing many move 


and throws with those two characters 


cr MeT 
lie f 


Although he i 
animal kingdom, Roger is nigh-c 
cal in every way to the lizard-tike Alex, 
hating all of the 
differences are 


another member of the 
nth 


ame moves and tech: 
niques. Any 


only 


aesthetic 


The two animals that infrequently appear during the fourth 
round of some demonstration bouts are Roger the Kangaroo 
and Alex the Dinosaur, and they are now available to play! These 
odd-looking critters are the hidden characters in the game and 
are based on a King-style fighter, but with shorter arms and 
longer legs. Despite the similarity between the animals and 
King, the actual execution of the moves feels very different, and 
in Version B, the elbowing moves have been weakened. Roger 
and Alex are still a considerable force to be reckoned with, and 
in the right hands, they can prove to be the deadliest of foes. 
Instead of relying on their short ineffectual punches, a basic 
combat strategy should be to use the ‘Animal Dash’ in close 
quarter fighting, and finish with the ‘Kurukuru’ (or spinning) 
punch. 


TAILING YOUR OPPONENTS 

Both Roger and Alex have benefited from acquiring two sepa: 
rate tail-based attacks; known as ‘Tail Cutters’. These are new, 
unique and amusing manoeuvres and produce different effects 
depending on the the timing of the attack. Ordinarily, the tail 
sweep to the side and is quite difficult to hit with, but coupled 
with a sprint it can inflict heavy amounts of damage. Simply 
knock your opponent to the floor, and run up to the prone body 
before executing the tail cutter which now points downwards, 
hitting the enemy with great ease 


OTHER ANIMAL ANTICS 

Being cursed with stunted forearms, these two animals find 
throwing extremely difficult, but make up for this with devastat- 
ing routing abilities. There are numerous ways to achieve such 
a technique (such as the Heihachi-inspired uppercut), but 
MAXIMUM's personal favourite is a right punch following a 


trample which sends the foe skyward with great force, and is known as the ‘Itsufuu 
shinken’ (False Wind Divine Fist). Once the floating has started, time three linked air 
moves or a normal one-two punch and finish with a knee drop for a hugely damaging link 
technique. One last unique technique was the damage-inflicting ‘Animal Rush’. After 
wounding your enemy with a drop kick, try for a running stomp attack that crushes mer- 
cilessly, but remember to escape any counterattack with a backwards roll (by pulling back 
on the joystick). Finally, remember any key techniques when playing as King (and to a 
lesser extent, Heihachi) and use them with Roger the Lizard, or Alex the boxing Kangaroo. 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE * MAXIMUM 89 


THIS YANKEE JUDO STAR IS ONE TOUGH DUDE! 


The severe retraining programme started by Paul soon after his defeat at 
the hands of the youngest Mishima mauler has paid off considerable divi 
dends, as Paul appears with numerous additions to his Judo-based attacks. 
His jobs as a street fighter and bouncer have earned him respect and atten: 
tion throughout the United States, but now he must turn to the second Iron 
Fist tournament for some serious fighting action. From now on, the fights he 
is involved in are with real combat masters; and not the frankly pathetic lum- 
bering fools encountered in downtown bars, clubs and back-streets. 

Paul now has a trademark explosion for all his big hits - a massive ball of 
bright orange lightning accompanies his finest connecting moves. Aside 
from this flamboyant and superficial touch, his actual extra moves include a 
great number of floating techniques (using mainly kicks), some new throws 
and a couple of fantastic Judo-inspired counters 


PAUL'S TECHNIQUES 

Triple Kick Combo - The king of the two-step kick is back, and this time he 
has some variations to this theme, As you can see from the moves list, Paul's 
Tile Breaker combos are divided into three, and the reason for this is simple. 
The first two moves are identical in all of these techniques, but the third kick 
can be varied so that it hits high, medium or low. What this essentially entails 
is that an enemy character must be very sure of their blocking style with Paul 
attempting a final kick of any level. Therefore, should Paul miss with the first 
two kicks, he may regain some credibility with a stunning final kick that could 
be the start of a floating combo. Also bear in mind that the high kick hits with 
much greater force than the mid or low kicks. 


Jaw Breaker - The first part of a two-part combo that can be finished with 
either the Gut Buster (below) or the Stone Breaker. The damage caused by 
this mid-range face smash is fair, but the main benefit of this attack is the 
additional damage you can follow up with. The Gut Buster is the most dam- 
aging of the two techniques but is easier to block. 


90 MAXIMUM » THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


“1 DON’T CARE HOW TOUGH YOU ARE. | CAN SMASH 
YOUR FACE IN A SECOND IF YOU MESS WITH ME” 


Gut Buster - The name says it all; this is a two-stage mid-range punch to fin 
ish the technique which has excellent wounding capabilities. Also of more 
superficial merit is the great stomping movernents that Paul makes, but when 
used in play, this makes a good offensive posture that shows the enemy that 
you mean business. The second successful hit smashes into the foe with 
such force that they are sent flying across the fighting arena. There is no time 
for floating combos here; continue your aggression with a sliding move or 
pounce. 


Stone Breaker - The alternative to the Gut Buster to finish the Jaw Breaker 
combo is the Stone Breaker; and this is the most visually impressive of the 
lot. After the initial heavy punch to the gut, Paul hits low with his right fist, and 
succeeds in launching the enemy upwards. Excellent to watch, this has the 
added benefit of ‘floating’ the enemy, which can lead to more pulverising 
action at the hands of an expert Paul Phoenix player. The second hit strikes 
low and is hard to counter should the opponent block the first blow 


Seotoshi (Back Drop) - Paul's reverse throw inflicts the most damage of any 
(except the Wind Claws), but the movement is remarkably similar to Bruce's 
(and Wang's) own version. This throw is obviously attempted on a backward. 
facing opponent, and Paul can continue the carnage with a number of 
sweeps or perhaps a pounce. 


Fuuga (Wind Claws) - Another throw to Paul's already comprehensive reper 
toire of Judo techniques has been added. Despite being slightly trickier to 
pull of, the Wind Claws causes greater injury than either the Back Strike or 
the Comma Throw. 


PAUL'S FIGHTING TECHNIQUES 


BRAIN-TAKING REVERSE CROSS | Near opponent 


SINGLE BACK THROW Near opponent 

COMA THROW Near opponent «« 
BACK STRIKE Near opponent =)=> 
ONE, TWO PUNCH 

SHREDDER rd 

PHOENIX SMASHER tom - 

PK COMBO - 

PDK COMBO 

BONE BREAKER While crouching 
NEUTRON BOMB >> 

JAW BREAKER While crouching %) = 
ROCK-SPLITTER While crouching 


HIGH THREE TREASURE DRAGON | =») = 


TRIPLE KICK COMBO ded 

TILE-BREAKER While crouching 
TILE-BREAKER DESTRUCTIVE FIST | While crouching 

HANG OVER While crouching 

GUT BUSTER While crouching 4% ~ 
FLASH ELBOW >_> 

WIND CLAWS Near opponent 
STONE BREAKER $e 

BACK DROP From behind @- or ~ 
THOUSAND DRAGON KING FIST « 

1. ULTIMATE TACKLE cd 

RANDOM BLACK CLOUD During 1. = 

BLACK CLOUD STRANGLE During 1. = 

REVERSE PDK COMBO 

QUICK PK COMBO While going forward ~ 
RETURN MOVES Depending on attack ‘ $- or - 


THAILAND’S GREATEST KICKBOXING MAULER 


Bruce is another Tekken 2 sub-boss that benefits from being a totally orig 
inal character with a uniquely distinctive style all of his own. Enraged by past 
tragedies and the dogged determination of Lei Wulong's trailing activities, 
Bruce has turned this anger into the perfection of his Muai Thai skills, and has 
become a powerful-striking combat machine. Bruce's technique and entire 
attacking style of play relies on strong strikes that really hit home, and are 
mostly knee or thigh based due to Bruce's reliance on the Muai Thai style of 
play. 

Use Bruce's strength to your advantage by inflicting a series of hard-hitting 
knee or kick-based attacks on an unsure enemy, and Bruce's many three 
Stage low attacks are perfect for this. Couple these stringing knee and kick 
attacks, with Bruce's expert grappling holds (including the phenomenal grap: 
pling combo known as the Knee Hell) and you have a unique, fascinating and 
very strong combatant with an unnerving presence. 

The other real strength of Bruce lies in his ability to toggle between low or 
mid-level kicks, and the choice of extra moves after two initial kicks. The 
beginning one-two leaves you with the possibility of linking a Rising 
Combination to the two moves, or even the Northern Light or Southern Cross 
Combinations. With expert joypad waggling, try two low kicks and rise to a 
jumping right kick and a Left Upper with a final throw to finish. Remember that 
these techniques get easier with practice! 

Bruce's only deficiency is his lack of low level attacks, and so the tempta- 
tion is to use cheap throws, so try to learn his ultimate grappling combo as 
quickly as you can. In the mean time, strike with low side kicks and high 
kicks, and reserve mid-level footwork for crouching enemies. 


BRUCE'S TECHNIQUES 

Triple Tae-Fork and Elbowing - This is more of a pointer that an actual 
manoeuvre, but is usual to know nevertheless. Elbows should be used exclu- 
sively when a foe stalls during a technique. When you see such a falter (usu: 
ally between two different punches or kicks), use this to your advantage by 
quickly employing a powerful set of moves. Use the Triple Tae-sork as one 
method of attack; and this works particularly well as Bruce steps forward on 
the first hit, leading to a long reach and the chance of flooring a foe, or even 
floating them. This is a great counter-attack, but suffers from one major prob- 
lem - Bruce becomes hopelessly prone when the enemy guards - so only use 
this technique when you are sure of your timing. 


Mid-air Combos - There are four different techniques that Bruce may employ 
that launches an opponent high into the air, and all of these are excellent for 
starting the many floating combos that Tekken 2 is famous for. What all these 
techniques have in common is a reliance on kneeing, and this is the point to 
remember; when attempting mid-air combos (or constructing your own) you 
should always use a kneeing manoeuvre as this floats a foe with ease. Use 
any of the three-hit combos listed, but for extra accuracy, try the Triple Knee 
Combo. 


Triple Knee Combo - Almost all of Bruce's three-stage combos use kicking 
attacks, but the Triple Knee Combo inflicts the most damage and should be 
the technique to use from Bruce's selection. Although it employs a leaping 
knee attack exclusively (and indeed is the only combo to do so), this right. 
left, right kneeing action is quick and hard-hitting, and is the technique to 
master before any of the less damaging combos should be attempted. The 
only real drawback of this technique is the height of the hits (all three strike 
the midriff), so the moves can be blocked if your timing is off. Once you've 


92 MAXIMUM «* THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


“WHO DARES CHALLENGE MY POWER! MY MASTERY 
OF MUAI THAI MAKES ME UNSTOPPABLE!” 


mastered the basics of this technique, employ it in a floating combo (see 
above) by timing the start of the technique just as your opponent falls back 
to earth. This causes extra and crippling damage to a prone and lifeless 
‘opponent who has no chance to avoid Bruce's unstoppable power! 


Side Low and Side High Kick - Although these two kicks don't have the 
sheer force of Bruce's main combos, they have a specific use; being ideal for 
inflicting follow-up attacks on a grounded opponent in the process of getting 
to his feet. in a similar manner to the Dragon Low and High Kicks of Law. 
Strike with the low hit, and the high one should be attempted. Be wary of an 
attacker rising quickly on the spot; the two kicks are useless in this situation 
and it is far better to attempt a right uppercut or other mid-level hits instead. 


Stopping Knee Feint - This is the most damaging of all Bruce's feint tech- 
niques, and as the name suggests, it comes into play when your opposing 
player is employing some cunning tactics. Used to interrupt an opponent's 
technique in the manner of a counter-strike, the knee can hit with such force 
that it can cause a stumble; and now is the time to follow-up with a massive 
combination of your own choosing! The Stopping Knee Feint is ideal for exe: 
cuting a short distance away as it benefits from a slight range, and can star. 
tle a previously cohfident enemy. 


Leg Bazooka - The two different forms that this move takes results in the 
same display of legwork. Familiarise yourself with the move as it is tricky to 
perform, but has the benefit of stunning a foe. Strike with speed and the 
opponent crumbles under the strength of the attack, but try and coax your 
foe into blocking and a stun could occur. 


ICE TI. 


" BRUCE'S FIGHTING TECHNIQUES 


HIZA-JIGOKU - KNEE HELL 


Multi-knee throw combo 


1. FRONT RIGHT KNEE KICK 


Near opponent =» #)\@ 


2. LEFT SIDE KNEE KICK 


During 1. 


3. SPINNING RIGHT KNEE KICK During 2. 

4. VACUUM FLYING KNEE KICK During 3. 
KUBI-NAGE - HEAD THROW During 1. 
THAI-KOW-KOHN Near opponent = 
THAI-KOW-TORON Near opponent 
LEG BAZOOKA ded 

FORK CLUB » 

TRIPLE THAI-FORK » 

ONE, TWO HIGH KICK Cs 
ONE, TWO MIDDLE KICK 

ONE, TWO LOW KICK + 
TRIPLE KNEE COMBO Cols 

DOUBLE KNEE & LOW KICK « - + 
STOPPING « 

STOPPING FEINT KNEE « 

SLEDGE HAMMER 

BACK ROLL ae 

FEINT LEG BAZOOKA During Back Roll - 
SLICER >> 

GATLING COMBINATION 

SPINNING FEINT STRAIGHT « 

SIDEWINDER « 

NORTHERN LIGHT 

SOUTHERN CROSS COMBO 

CYCLONE EDGE * 

TORNADO UPPER During Cyclone Edge 
RISING COMBINATION sis : 
QUICK SOVAT 

SNIPER SOVAT COMBO Cis 

DOUBLE FACE BREAKER * 

BACK FLING From behind $- or ~ 
SNIPER SLASH >>> 

SIDE LOW & SIDE HIGH KICK + 

STEP-IN MIDDLE KICK * 


THE DRAGON LEGEND FIGHTS FOR HONOUR 


“WATCH ME DEFEAT MY ENEMIES ONCE MORE. THE 
FIRE OF THE DRAGON CONSUMES EVERYTHING!” 


Marshall Law the dragon legend has had little time to formulate a com- 
prehensive new arsenal of killer moves, as he spent most of the intervening 
time sifting through the wreckage of his ruined dojo and comforting the rela- 
tives of his pupils that were so viciously hospitalised by Kazuya’s paid hit 
men. The leader of the attack - Baek Doo San the Korean Killing Hawk - has 
gone unpunished for long enough, and Law now feels he is ready to com: 
plete his two-fold attack strategy; to cripple Baek Doo San both mentally and 
physically, and to finally bring Kazuya down and to justice. 

Law has obviously spent some time studying new techniques in the small 
amount of spare time available after the dojo rebuilding work, and this inten: 
sive training seems to have mainly centred on diversifying his flip-kick skills. 
This is where the master Law player can shine through - no one can deny that 
Marshall Law is a sight to behold when inflicting some airbome flip-kicking 
destruction on a hapless enemy. Those Tekken 2 players with an aversion to 
flip-kicking will find Law's other attacks somewhat limited, as he has gained 
very little other techniques. However, his quickness and air-superiority have 
won Marshall Law fans the world over, and he remains as popular as ever. 


LAW'S TECHNIQUES 

Left Linked Knuckle - Law's main prowess lies with his hard-hitting kick 
attacks, but he also has a couple of fast (but not hugely damaging) punch 
strings. As the name suggests, all the punches are quickly produced from 
Law’s left fist as he shuffles forward, pounding the enemy with five darting 
punches. With correct timing, you should be able to hit with all five hits (try to 
catch a jumping opponent for some interesting effects), but usually the first 
two punches connect while the rest are blocked. After practising, try linking 
this Knuckle string with the Dragon Knuckle combo for a massive eight high 
hits! 


Rave War Combo - No quide to Tekken 2 would be complete without a men: 
tion of this excellently-named punch-string. This was one of the first to be dis. 
covered in Tekken, and remains as simple as it ever was. This is the ideal 
attack for beginners, who are just getting to grips with Tekken 2, whilst old: 
hands use this very infrequently, and only as a change from Law's numerous 
flip-kicking antics. The difficulty of this combo is the lack of linking ability to 
other techniques; try the Left Kinked Knuckle for a better series of punches 
that may be combined with other movements 


Dragon's Tail - The name of this technique describes Law’s actions perfect 
ly, He falls onto his side with his legs outstretched and spins to his left, catch. 
ing the enemy with his legs like a fly-swat and upturning them providing the 
timing is exact. The main advantage of this technique is the amount of 
wounding caused by the full force of the Law's possessed spirit 


94 MAXIMUM * THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


Sliding - Another technique that Law developed for the first Iron Fist tourna. 
ment was the sliding move that knocks an opponent off their feet, This has 
remained useful in Tekken 2 as it an attempt to block it usually ends in dis. 
aster for the enemy. The damage inflicted is not huge by any means, but a 
quick recovery from Law means that a subsequent low-hitting attack (such as 
the Dragon's Tail) can be tried. Remember to pick up speed for the attack, 
and time your hit to coincide with an enemy mistake. 


Three Linked High Kicks - Another unbelievably simple technique are the 
three left-footed high kicks that was the mainstay of any Law player in the first 
Tekken. These attacks all hit high and fast, but the main advantage of this 
attack is the Feint Middle Kick that can be employed by pressing forward on 
the joystick. This almost always knocks an enemy off their feet, and the eas. 
jest way to inflict hits using this technique is to switch between the end high 
kick and the mid-range feint 


Dragon Fang - Law's Guard Impossible move is the same as it ever was - one 
of the most awesome destructive forces ever seen in Tekken! After a brief 
pause of energy summoning, Law surrounds himself in magical fire and 
thrusts forward, striking the foe squarely in the stomach and inflicting mas: 
sive internal injuries. The shocked opponent spasms slightly in the air before 
keeling over while Law laughs long and low. As always, remember the initial 
delay between commencing the move and the execution: as the slow build 
up of the attack leaves Law extremely prone. Once the fist hits home howev- 
er, the damage is immense (even more so than Yoshimitsu's Desperate 
Scream Fist), and the now prone target may be further damaged by a low 
kick, or even the excellent Dragon's Tail attack 


LAW'S FLIP-KICK TECHNIQUES 

First and foremost, Law's flipping manoeuvres float the enemy like nothing 
you've ever seen, and many of these master techniques can be comple: 
mented by a routing attack to finish off an already unsteady foe. Practice your 
floating follow-up moves, and you can turn Law's flip-kick moves into some 
of the most deadly in the game. 


Crescent Kick - A blinding high kick followed by a hefty somersault is a good 
starting technique. The main point to remember is to hit an indecisive oppo- 
nent, or one who is constantly making errors in his fighting style. With the cor- 
rect amount of distance between you and the foe, the actual somersaul itself 


May 


| a all 


LAW’S FIGHTING TECHNIQUES 

1. FACE BREAKER PUNCH Near opponent ~ 
DRAGON DIVE Near opponent 
DRAGON KNEE Near opponent (=>) 
ONE, TWO PUNCH sie 

STEP-IN MIDDLE KICK * 

CATAPULT KICK HIGH Hold \¥) then hold 
CATAPULT KICK Hold ‘¥) then 
SHAOLIN SPIN KICK = 1 one 

LEFT LINKED KNUCKLE 

RAVE WAR COMBO > - 

DRAGON KNUCKLE COMBO e 

RAINBOW KICK Hold ‘&) then 
DRAGON LOW KICK While crouching 

2. THREE-LINKED HIGH KICKS - 

FEINT MIDDLE KICK During 2. hold =» 
SLIDING Hold (& then (4%\%) 
CRESCENT KICK t 

DRAGON SLASH >> = 

DRAGON FANG e To cancel move |) 
FACE CRUSHER From behind or 
DRAGON FALL During 1. 

DOUBLE IMPACT While crouching 
DRAGON LEFT SOMERSAULT While crouching 
FRONT KICK LEFT SOMERSAULT | While getting up 
SIDE KICK RIGHT SOMERSAULT _| While getting up 
HIGH KICK RIGHT SOMERSAULT « 

SIT STRAIGHT LEFT SOMERSAULT | ¥ = 

DRAGON PRESS 4 

JUMP SIDE KICK SOMERSAULT t 

QUICK SOMERSAULT KICK 

BACK FLIPPER 

DRAGON'S TAIL Cais 

RAMPAGE While crouching 


YOSHIMITSU 


MECHANISED NINJA DEMANDS RETRIBUTION 


Apart from a superficial overhaul resulting in Yoshimitsu appearing as a 
mysterious hat-wearing devil-cyborg, this supernatural character has benefit- 
ed from a number of combat enhancements that make him one of the most 
exciting characters to control. The leader of the Swastika party was the most 
unconventional fighter in the first Tekken tournament, and this accolade 
remains unchanged in the second competition as the enraged ninja attempts 
to confront Kazuya Mishima over the loss of the scientist responsible for his 
robotic outfit 

Those who have previously fought with Yoshimitsu know of his sword-play, 
and for the second Iron Fist festival he has a number of excellent sword- 
slashing moves that are great for defacing an assailant. In addition, the devil- 
ninja has trained to throw a foe in a multitude of different (and highly impres- 
sive) ways and has also learned another spinning attack to finish off his weird 
and wonderful repertoire. 


YOSHIMITSU’S TECHNIQUES 

Slap-u-Silly - Yoshimitsu's new spinning multi-hitter is an excellent rapid 
assault that can strike a foe up to six times. It has a benefit over Yoshimitsu’s 
standing spin-punch attack (the Stone Fist) in that the arms are extended fur 
ther meaning a greater range for this move, whilst the Ninja Arts Swastika 
Swap (the rotating leg sweep) only inflicts five hits. Remember that with 
excellent timing all of these techniques can be mingled together into an awe- 
some spinning combination, and this is useful for avoiding Yoshimitsu's dizzy 
spell after the Stone Fist. 


Storm and Swastika Back Fist - These two easy techniques are ideal for the 
beginner, The Storm is also known by the Japanese ‘Fubuki’, and is a swift 
mid-level kneeing move that knocks an opponent to the ground, inflicts siz. 
able damage and is easy to pull off. The Back Fist is even more useful as a 
successful hit turns the opponent round to face the other way. This is a 
chance (provided you're quick enough) to follow with the Storm, or even 
Yoshimitsu's fantastic reverse throw; the Ninja Arts Wind God. 


Grass-Mowing Cannon - The delightfully-named spinning leap is an adap- 
tation of the Solar Kick and Shark Attack combination in the first Tekken. This 
Starts with the two two moves previously hitting the middle and then high, 
before a final pounce and thrust begins Yoshimitsu’s legs up into the chest of 
the unfortunate victim. Monumental damage is inflicted providing all three 
attacks hit, and this is a marvellous floating combo too. The drawback is the 
slow start of the Solar Kick, so mainly use this spinning combination to float 
leaping opponents. 


Ninja Arts Wind God - The reverse throw of Yoshimitsu damages the victim 
beyond recognition and inflicts more damage that some characters’ unblock 


96 MAXIMUM * THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


“MY NINJA ARTS ARE BEYOND COMPREHENSION! 
YOU ARE HELPLESS AS | SLICE OUT YOUR SOUL!” 


able techniques, and has the added bonus of being one of the most impres. 
sive moves in the game. After a swift grab, Yoshimitsu launches into the skies 
with a supernatural energy before plummeting to the ground head-first, leav- 
ing the enemy broken and prone. 


Manji-agura Swastika Crouch and Thousand Sensations - The following 
moves are unique to Yoshimitsu and strange to behold, as the ninja utilises 
ancient meditation techniques to worry the opposition and confuse them 
beyond comprehension. The crouching move is the initial stage of the 
Thousand Sensations trance state, and once performed, Yoshimitsu simply 
assumes a cross-legged sitting position on the ground, Once the channelling 
position has been achieved, Yoshimitsu can perform the Thousand 
Sensations, where he positions his sword in an upright position and receives 
healing from it. A small amount of energy is given after every three short 
thrusts. As you may imagine, these two moves should only be used at 
extreme range, or when the opposition is recovering from a particularly nasty 
combo sensation. 


Thousand Sensations (No Sky Legs) - This other rather bizarre move sees 
Yoshimitsu disappear in a haze of magical dust, only to reappear behind the 
attacker. This teleportation move (or Warp technique) is another excellent 
way of confusing the foe, and depending how near to the opponent you trav. 
el to, a number of powerful techniques (and even the reverse throw) could be 
tried on the confused target 


Karin - Flower Wheel - The final otherworldly technique Yoshimitsu employs 
(aside from his sword attacks) is the axis-shifting wheel. From a moderate 
distance, Yoshimitsu starts to spin extremely fast, before rotating to the side 
of the attacker and leaving a trail of magical dust behind him. Use this to con 
fuse an enemy and to move to an open flank where a number of devastating 
attacks can be attempted 


YOSHIMITSU’S BLADED TECHNIQUES 

The majority of Yoshimitsu's new moves take the form of sword-strikes from 
his magical blade. Many of these moves are unblockable, most are very 
quick, and some inflict terrible injuries that pierce and slash. 


Death Slash - The unblockable down-swing of ‘Yoshimitsu’ slashes down 
through an enemy after a small back-swing. It is the pause before the down 
wards slash that is problematic, with the opponent able to try all manner of 


YOSHIMITSU’S FIGHTING TECHNIQUES 


SHIZUKU - DROP Near opponent - 
FUTABA - DOUBLE BLADE Near opponent 
1. SOLAR KICK >> 

SHARK ATTACK During 1. 
STONE FIST X68 

1. NINJA ARTS SWASTIKA SWAP. x5 
TRIPLE SCATTERED FLOWER = is 

PALSON WIND Ae 

FUBUKI - STORM. ee 
TREE-FELLING KICK During 1. = 
DEATH SLASH 2) & 
DESPERATE SCREAM FIST «+ 

ZIGZAG |e 

KNEE CAP +4 

PK COMBO 

PDK COMBO + 

2, MANJI-AGURA CROUCH 4 

3. THOUSAND SENSATIONS Energy recovery during 2. 
4. DEATH-COPTER A) & 

FLYING AIR-ATTACK FIST During 4. & 
WINDMILL a« 
SLAP-U-SILLY e o% x6 
MADOI-NASHI - NO CONFUSION | ==> 


MADOI - CONFUSION 


Cancels No Confusion \=>\= 


NINJA ARTS WIND GOD From behind $- or = 
UREI-NASHI - NO GRIEF + 
SAMURAI CUTTER While crouching \@) 4) 
NINJA ARTS WATCHTOWER FALL | Near opponent ‘$\e\« 
HYUUGA CANNON =o) © 
KARIN - FLOWER WHEEL « x 6 depletes life guage 
SENGAKU-BUKUUBU During 3. 4) 
CONTINOUS HELL FIST (@) ®- \@) release joystick to cut 
GRASS MOWING CANNON >= 

>» 


SWASTIKA BACK FIST 


Jun Kazama’s own style of classic Bu-Jitsu and reliance on her super. 
natural mentors for guidance make her a quick and cunning fighter with a vul- 
nerable side that can be exploited by a master player. Jun is a delicate-look: 
ing flower and not the obvious choice for the Tekken 2 player, but once she 
Starts to bloom, she becomes a considerable combat animal with an arsenal 
of lightning-fast combos that can floor heavier and slower players with ease. 

The most important aspect of Jun's techniques concerns her speed. Jun 
is one of the fastest fighters in the game, and the key to exploiting her speed 
is by perfecting her many combos, before inventing your own. Initially, you 
should try and concentrate on her normal techniques such as throws and 
stringing simple attacks together in order to familiarise yourself with unique 
style of play. Once simple techniques have been mastered, you should be 
ready to move on to linking some old Bushido-style moves and perfecting her 
most complex manoeuvres reserved for true experts. 


JUN'’S TECHNIQUES 

Throwing - Jun Kazama benefits from four distinct throws, but these are 
mainly used for countering and inflict little damage, except for the White 
Mountain where Jun grabs the left hand of her foe at arm length and pulls her 
attacker forward against her before planting the assailant firmly into the 
ground with a massive destructive force. Also of note is the throw performed 
when Jun is behind her enemy, as it inflicted the greatest amount of damage. 
This suplex-style grapple results in the confused opponent being lifted over 
Jun’s head and into the ground head-first, crushing the skull and neck. 


Scissor Spin Kick - Another move from Jun's ample fighting list that can be 
inserted into a combination for a personal touch to combat. A benefit of this 
attack is that it hits twice at close range and is visually appealing, so remem 
ber this and use it to your advantage or to finish of a series of routing or 
stringed moves 


98 MAXIMUM * THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


“KAZUYA’S EVIL SMUGGLING ACTIVITIES SHALL STOP. 
THE SPIRITS OF NATURE WILL SEE TO THAT!” 


Whiplash - An excellent and simple twisting attack that has the main advan- 
tage of being fast to execute. Jun forms a defensive posture before striking 
high and spinning to strike again with a mid-level punch. This is the technique 
to start a wealth of different combinations, and the ease of execution is anoth- 
er reason why this technique should be at the heart of any Jun fighter's reper. 
toire 


Suiren-Shiun Punch & Kick - This excellent three-tier attack starting with a 
Whiplash that hits high and then at mid-level, and thus makes it ideal for inter- 
weaving into a variety of combos of your own choosing, It also requires spe- 
cial timing, and is therefore a technique to employ with a reasonable degree 
of accuracy and competence. Although superficially similar to Paul Phoenix's 
two-stage kick, it is more spectacular and has one important difference in that 
the second stage can hit home where the first stage failed. So when an oppo: 
nent blocks high, the low kick penetrates the foe's defences and extends 
Jun’s reach still further. 


ao a 


Devil's Head Fall - Generally speaking, Jun's attacks are most worrying for 
the opposition at low level, but the Devil's Head Fall is an excellent series of 
up to three mid-level kicks that can end in a guard-impossible liver strike with 
the correct practice and timing. The method of execution in this stringed 
attack must be stressed, as badly-timed kicks lead to a less-damaging series 


of midriff kicks with no chance of a guard impossible. Whilst practising this 


technique a badly-judged kick may occur, after which it is advisable to finish 
with a normal kick as an attempt at the liver strike can end in embarrassing 
failure. It is wise to gauge your timing correctly, as honing your attacks for the 
three spins is vital for breaking the opponent's guard. 


UN OMBO 


JUN’S FIGHTING TECHNIQUES 


WHIPLASH 


TOOTH FAIRY 


SPINNING LOW KICK 


TRIPLE SPIN KICK 


SCISSOR SPIN KICK 


SUIKEI-SHITAKERI KICK 


LINKED SPEAR POWER 


THREE-RING CIRCUS 


BACK SPIN KICK 


THREADED CLOUD KICK 


DEVIL'S HEAD FALL 


CUTTING LEGS WHITE DEW 


SUIREN-SHIUN PUNCH & KICK 


MOUNTAIN WHITE DEW 


COLLISION THIGH 


MOTION CUTTING LEGS 


MISTY KNUCKLES 


DRAGON CARRAIGE KICK 


CARRAIGE KICK LEGS 


a 


CARRAIGE KICK LEGS 


MOUNTAIN WHITE DEW LEGS 


SERPENT SPINNER 


Near opponent - 


ARM CROSS HOLD 


Near opponent 


BELL SMASHER 


From behind $- or ~ 


HAZUKAN - WHITE MOUNTAIN 


Near opponent ‘ @* 


GREEN MONSTER COUNTER 


Depending on attack 


~ or = 


Dateline: November 24, 1995. The Shoshinkai Show opens in Tokyo, showing 
the world at large the first ever Nintendo Ultra 64 games and fully working hard- 
ware. Over the last two years, the technology has been hyped to obscene lev- 
els, with Nintendo confident that their collaboration with Silicon Graphics will 
produce the most stunning 3D to date - along with the best games ever. Now 
we've seen it, the question has to be, can Nintendo deliver? 


This year’s Shoshinkai was make or break for Nintendo. Reeling after a bad year of 
Super Famicom sales, as well as the disappointing launch of the Virtual Boy, NCL clearly 
had their work cut out in proving to the world that it was still a force to be reckoned with 
in the videogames arena. This they did proudly with the first unveiling of the Ultra 64 hard: 
ware along with what is potentially the greatest game ever - Super Mario 64. 

What was quite unfortunate was that virtually no other software was revealed at all. What 
was shown alongside Mario was the frankly disappointing Kirby Bowl 64, Although dis: 
playing some very nice 3D, in the gameplay department it was something of a fiasco. Still, it’s difficult to 
expect anything more from 20% complete software and perhaps lends credence to Mr Yamauchi's statement 
during his key note speech that witnessing unfinished software is almost always something of a disappoint 
ing experience. 

You can read all about the specific titles unveiled at the Shoshinkai later on in this feature, but it has to be 
said that not everyone was completely bowled over by the Ultra's debut appearance, Despite the appear. 


100 MAXIMUM = THE 


IDEO GAME MA\ 


MAXIMUM NEWS 


Super Mario 64 debuts in real style at the Shoshinkai Show! 
Assembled delegates utterly amazed by Mario’s first true 3D adventure! 


ance of Mario, some developers were clearly not that impressed 
with the system's performance, despite the clear evidence that 
the NU64 is clearly superior in just about every regard - 
PlayStation quality with no clipping was one particularly memo- 
rable criticism. However, the general consensus was that 
Nintendo clearly had something special here. 

The reliance on cartridges (particularly enormous 64-meg 
ROMs) was still something of a concern - particularly when the 
9,800 yen price-point was announced, It would appear that Ultra 

gamers are going to have to wait until the launch of the Bulky fo 

Drive (or 64DD as the Japanese press are now calling it) until 

cheaper software becomes available. It's going to be a long wait 

though - this new read/writable disc format isn't even going to MORE SHOSHINKA! MADNESS 
be revealed until Shoshinkai next year. From the leaked specs, id gptabarca! : 
it does appear that it will be worth waiting for - a 64 megabyte 

size is planned for each 64DD disc, with loading times approx 
imately eight times faster than the double-speed CD-ROMs used with Saturn and PlayStation. 

‘Some good news on the release side of things: a near-simultaneous roll-out is planned. Of course, Japan 
will get the goods first, with a confirmed April 21 release. However, UK distributors THE have sent out press 
releases offering vague promises of a European release “at the end of April” - a date they are sticking to at 
the time of press despite rumours of a 1997 launch emanating from Japan 


Mr Yamauchi addresses the industry 


Putting the entire NU64 launch into perspective was the president of NCL, Hiroshi 
Yamauchi, who held a conference on the first day of the Shoshinkai. Although clearly proud 
of the Ultra hardware, his intention was to show just how the system would revitalise the 
video games market. Even with the release of the next generation systems from Sega and 
Sony, Mr Yamauchi believes that the market is stil in danger of collapsing as it did 12 years 
ago when the Atari VCS literally died overnight. “Why did we launch the Nintendo 64? To 
defend and protect the video game market? For Nintendo to become the sole, absolute, 
hegemony in the market? No. We are launching the Nintendo 64 to rescue and to save the 
market that is being threatened. Our objective is not to dominate the market. Rather we 
want to change the market so that users won't leave us. We want to assure our future.” 

Ina veiled attack on his competitors, Mr Yamauchi commented that “Users will just reject 
repetitious titles, They are sophisticated, They aren't fooled by copycat titles.” Backing up 
his comments was the range of games revealed at Shoshinkai, No arcade conversions, no 
fighting games - Nintendo is truly trying to expand the possibilities in video games 
“Games should have an original concept - something the user has not experienced before. 
This is the basic purpose of video games.” Expanding this idea of innovation, he contin- 
ued: “The uniqueness of the Nintendo 64 controller enables new seeds or ideas to grow 
with developers, For example, the 3D Stick can be used in sports games such as soccer bh 
and baseball for more realistic control, A qualitative difference can be felt by the users. 


“Games should have an original concept - something the user has not experienced 
before... Without those changes, there may not he a future for videogames.” 


Without those changes, there may not be a future for video games.” 

Defending Nintendo's choice of cartridge over CD-ROM, Mr Yamauchi told Shoshinkai delegates: "Many of you 

feel that CD-ROM is the call of the day. But look at the latest buzz word in the computer world—plug-and-play— 
which Is nothing but Famicom culture, In addition, customers thought that having no loading time is a great advan- 
tage, but more importantly, by using ROM-based games, other chips can later be incorporated into the cartridge. 
which allows Nintendo to offer new game opportunities to game developers, The Nintendo 
64 will carry on this tradition of using mask ROMs and computer chips to provide the most 
advanced games.” 
In any case Nintendo is planning its own mass storage device, currently codenamed the 
Bulky Drive, which will be available towards the end of the year and will feature titles such 
as Legend of Zelda 64 in its initial line-up. In the meantime, gamers are going to have to 
put up with relatively expensive carts - Mr Yamauchi mentioned a price-point of around 
9,800 yen - around £75 to £80 in English pounds sterling. Although cheaper than some 
Super Famicom carts, this is still very expensive - top-end Sony/ Sega product tend to get 
released at a maximum price of around 6,800 yen. Finishing off his address, Mr Yamauchi 
invited developers and publishers to a conference in Kyoto on December 14. 


A NEW DIRECTION 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE + MAXIMUM 101 


MAXIMUM NEWS 


MARIO BROS: The next generation! 


Some of the greatest videogames ever have the name of Mario in their titles. With sales of over 
50,000,000 cartridges worldwide to his name, Nintendo's flagship character is synonymous with 
quality. And he spearheads NCL’s attack on the next generation marketplace in the forthcom- 
ing Super Mario 64. 


Although Nintendo promised to 
have ten games up and running for 
eager delegates to play at the 
Shoshinkai, only Super Mario 64 and 
Kirby Bowl 64 made it to the show in a 
playable form. However, to tell the 
truth, Mario on its own would have 
made the arduous 13-hour ‘plane flight 
worthwhile. Nobody came away disap- 
pointed by the 50% complete version 
‘of the game on display - indeed there 
were many mutterings that this latest Mario epic could well be the greatest videogame ever... not bad for 
half-finished software on a system that's not due for release for another four months. 

Of course, as you can see from the myriad screenshots dotted across these pages, Mario's latest adven- 
ture is in 3D, allowing players to explore levels in ways you could only have dreamed of. This is a true next 
generation extrapolation of the platform game - this has all the playability of Super Mario World along with a 
level of realism in its movement that truly takes it beyond anything you would have seen before. 


A new dimension for Mario in what could be the greatest game ever! 


Falay7 83 


THE OLD AND THE NEW 


Witness for the first time the power of the Silicon Graphics home technology! 


SUPER MARIO 64: THE GRAPHICS 

Right from the very beginning, it's always been the case that Mario titles have never been 
the best-looking of videogames. In fact, a lot of the charm and visual excitement you get 
from Mario games has always been derived from the small effects and little touches 
added to the games’ basic look. Such is the case with Super Mario 64. Looking at the 
screenshots, you may very well believe that there is nothing here that couldn't be handled 
by a PlayStation or Saturn. However, see the game in action and you will be forced to re- 
evaluate your opinions as it is a visual masterpiece of unprece- 
dented proportions. 

Previous boasts from NU64 developers about the system's 
workstation-like performance are borne out with Mario 
Everything moves at a super-smooth frame rate, which does 
occasionally dip when complex objects are on-screen (particu- 
larly in the showdown with Bowser). In terms of pace and 
speed, Mario 64 easily matches the slickness of Yoshi's Island 
and Super Mario World. Except this time it's all 3D. 

The polish of the game is already evident. The aforementioned battle with Bowser 

shows the Ultra’s dazzling graphical effects to excellent effect - all of the 3D objects 
are solidly displayed (no dodgy clipping here) with a phenomenal array of special 
effects present. Watching Mario get toasted by his arch-nemesis' fiery breath is 
pretty much an experience in itselt. 
The landscapes again show a solidness of 3D unmatched on anything we've seen 
to date, Polygon pop-up would seem to very much be a thing of the past if Mario 
64 Is taken as a yardstick of the machine's 3D capabilities. The 3D landscapes are 
pretty simple, but show off the Ultra's superior texture-mapping with consummate 
ease. We were impressed to see no ugly texture-map pixelisation at close range, 
just as promised. In fact, the 3D behaved remarkably well and in all the time we 
spent playing Mario 64, the graphics only lost their solid consistency at one point. 
Let there be no doubt. In terms of classy visuals, Super Mario 64 is in a class all of 
its own. 


WHAT'S IN THE GAME? 

The software produced for the Shoshinkai was designed to show off as much of 
the game as you could possibly see in around ten minutes. Nintendo were expect- 
ing a huge amount of interest in the game and were thus limiting the amount of 
time you could spend at the machine (like everyone else, MAXIMUM queued a 
huge amount of times to get as much gameplay time on Mario as we could) 
Before the game began, you were treated to a fully rendered, fully animated Mario 
face. Using the controller, you could zoom in and out, rotate him and even use an 
on-screen hand to tweak various parts of his features. 

The game begins proper with the main map also taking the form of a 3D world. A 


102 MAXIMUM = THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


RE-INTRODUCING BOWSER 
Mario games ate well known for thet in 


al, delegates w 


eat, this boss is certainly astounding 
and quite deadly. However, Mario 


single castle was available for play, although it was possible to 
explore the environs around the building. Once inside, the real 
fun begins, with Mario able to access different games areas by 
choosing different doors 

From here, it was possible to get a real feel for the sheer vari- 
ety the game has to offer - even in this completely unfinished 
state. Easily impressing us was the Rocky Mountain level, which 
shows Mario scaling an enormous peak, accosted by “living 
walls" which shoot out from the cliff face to knock him off the nar- 
row ledges. It was on this level that MAXIMUM had one of its few 
complaints about this game. Contrary to the huge swell of posi- 
tive opinion about the 3D stick, we 
actually found that some control was 
lacking here and quite often we found 
ourselves walking into the wall rather 
than travelling in the direction we want- 
ed. 
The different gameplay features that 
made the older Mario games so cool 
returns with a vengeance in Mario 64. 
For example, it's here that you can 
begin to appreciate the range of new 
moves open to Mario. As well as an 
excellent super-jump, the plumber is 
also able to to climb up walls - useful as 
the “living walls” tend to send you fly- 
ing off precipices at the most inconve- 
nient of times. 
Again emphasising variety was the 
slide level. This was a supremely 
playable mini-stage that saw Mario 
hurtling at great speeds down an enor- 
mous slide, Again, everything was in 
proper 3D. No hideous deaths scenes 
‘occurred if you flew off the edge of the slide - just use the 3D stick 
to take Mario in the general direction of the slide as you plummet 
and you were pretty much guaranteed to get back to it, Using 
Mario's momentum, it was also possible to cut corners on the 
chute, which was a great touch, Overall then, great stuff. 


AWESOME PLAY MECHANICS 

The amount of time being put into the feel of the game by 
Shigeru Miyamoto’s team was self-evident in the “digest” demo 
cof Super Mario 64 that we played, The next port of call was the 
Ice Land, which features the same kind of icy momentum seen 


MAXIMUM NEWS 


technology allows for visual 

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THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE * MAXIMUM 103 


MAXIMUM NEWS | 


before in other platform games. However, the sheer “feel” of it in 
Mario 64 along with the 3D and the control offered by the 3D stick 
made this stage seem far more exciting than any other platform 
game. 

Like previous Mario epics, SM64 also features underwater stages 
and these were frankly outstanding. The freedom offered by the 
3D nature of the new adventure was at its greatest here, with Mario 
able to swim in whatever direction he chose. The only limitations 
in this stage involved the time limit imposed. It makes sense that 
Mario needs to breathe, and a power gauge appears on-screen, 
steadily decreasing until you surface for air. In the underwater 
domain, Mario uncovers treasure chests packed with coins, and 
also comes across a sunken wreck. Best of all is a deep sea jaunt 
through a cave which leads to an absolutely incredible submarine, 
which has to be seen to be believed. Again, it's the little effects 


The power of NU64 technology is showcased in the amazing Super Mario 64! 
Miyamoto’s team have taken platform games into the 21st century! 


here that are the icing on the cake. Mario's field of vision is limited 
here for the very first time, with an awesome undersea visual effect. 
This level was yet another totally outstanding affair and was prob- 
ably the highlight of the demo version of Super Mario 64. 

Other stages available for play included an excellent fire stage, 
replete with collapsing bridges and rampaging fireballs along with 
the showdown stage against Bowser. The arrival of a boss stage 
was greeted with much enthusiasm by MAXIMUM and it must be 
said that we were slightly disappointed. Whilst Bowser himself is a PRESS, 
masterpiece of 3D (as are his fireballs), it's here that slowdown |iaEaMauMa 
reared its ugly head. It was still great figuring out how to defeat the 
creature (by ducking behind him and swinging him around by his 
tail), but it was here that the NU64's technical limitations appeared 
to be defined, However, from our subsequent chat with Shigeru 
Miyamoto, it appears clear that the Mario team are still doing their 
best to get to grips with the NU64's 3D systems and Mr Miyamoto 
seemed confident that any technical problems would be easily 
sorted out by the time of the game's release in April next year. 


THE AUDIO SCORE 

The NU66 features a built-in co-processor capable of some stun- 
ning sounds, but again, just like Super Mario World on the Super 
NES, the sound capabilities of the 
machine have been used very subtly, depending on your locale within the game. 
One thing that hasn't changed is NCL's propensity for cutesy music during their 
Mario epics. Yes, it's technically better (as you would expect) but the actual music 
itself is pure Mario. One thing that surprised us slightly was the fact that Mario him- 
self is a lot more vocal than ever he was in previous outings. Jumps and super- 
jumps are met with a bit of vocal force from Mario, as opposed to the reassuring 
sound effects found in previous Mazzer games. Don't expect to be bowled over 
immediately by the Ultra’s audio prowess - expect better quality renditions of what 
we've already come to expect from Mario. 


OVERALL IMPRESSIONS 

‘Any new Mario game from Mr Miyamoto is an event to look forward to, but a 3D 
Mario game on possibly the greatest video games system ever devised for home 
use? That's got to be something really special. And indeed, rather predictably, it is. 
MAXIMUM firmly believes that Nintendo have got what's required to retake the 
video games market just on the strength of Super Mario 64, Forget the technical 
issues here and don't bother digesting the tech-specs. Once again Nintendo have 
Proved that it is the gameplay that is most important and NCL have proved that 
their skills are as effective in the 3D arena as ever they were in the 2D worlds of the 
Super NES. 

The same kind of incredible excitement we got out of playing Super Mario World 
on the Super NES all those years ago returned with a vengeance when we picked 
up the controller to play Mario 64. Yes, we've got 
minor quibbles with the game, such as the effective- 
ness of the 3D stick and the occasionally wobbly 
frame rate. But the fact is, for 50% complete soft- 
ware, this is totally mind-blowing stuf. 


104 MAXIMUM »* THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


a 


FAAS 


| MAXIMUM NEWS | 


Forget Killer instinct, Yoshi's Island and Donkey Kong 
Country - the biggest selling Super NES cartridge ever is Super 
Mario Kart... and it's just about complete on NU64, 

As hinted in MAXIMUM's exclusive Nintendo interview last 
month, Mario and friends are returning for more karting action, this 
time with fully rendered characters performing in a phenomenal 
3D environment. All of the original karters are back, albeit radical. 
ly designed, and we can reveal that new Nintendo characters from 
the Mario mythos are slated to appear in the game, most notably 
Wario 

Super Mario Kart R (its provisional name) also boosts multi- 
player options. Whereas the original game was a constant split 
screen affair, Mario Kart R offers a choice of multiple or single 
screen options depending on how many player have been cho- 
sen, This title is the first to use all four of the NU64's controller slots 


and even though four split-screens may be cause for some eye- 
straining consequences, MAXIMUM can report that the NU64’s 
high resolution is more than up to the task of rendering the four 
screens with decent detail 

At the Shoshinkai, MAXIMUM spotted the game’s director, the 
legendary Shigeru Miyamoto and pinned him down for some on- 
the-spot information. According to Mr Miyamoto, the game is 
around 95% complete and will be available at launch with the 
NU64 on April 21 next year. The game is played using the “3D 
thumb controller” in the centre of the pad; its analogue response 
has so impressed the Mario creator that he sees no need for 
ate » Nintendo to ever release a steering wheel for the machine. 

Other information gleaned from the gaming legend: no link-up 
for NU64. Not now. Not ever. Nintendo's policy dictates that one 
machine and one TV are all that is needed for multi-player games. 
Mr Miyamoto pointed out that eight-player games would have been possible on 
NU64, but the minuscule size of eight mini-screens made it unworkable 

So, if Super Mario Kart R is so near completion, why was it not playable at the 
Shoshinkai? Mr Miyamoto's response was surprising: apparently to fully demon- 
strate what Super Mario Kart R is all about, you'd need to show all the multi-play- 
er options working and due to the relatively small size of each Ultra-booth, 
Nintendo was concerned about huge over-crowding around each machine - par- 
ticularly on the public days (a circus, which thankfully MAXIMUM avoided) 

From what was shown at the 
Shoshinkai, MAXIMUM has absolutely 
no doubt that Super Mario Kart R is 
going to be a major player in 
Nintendo's launch strategy for the 
NU64. The rendered graphics would 
seem to show little of the NU64's 
graphical capabilities, but just like 
Yoshi's Island, the effects of the new 
technology are very under-stated, but 
extremely effective. Witness the foggy 
stages and the frankly incredible ghost 
houses and you will realise that Mario 
Kart R is far, far more impressive than Ba z 
the screenshots revealed so far would at 
let on. Couple the game's visual quali- : 
ties with what is the most rampantly 
playable racing title ever released and You w F \ 
you should get some small idea of the 
magnitude of this NU6S title. It's going 
to be big 


INE * MAXIMUM 105 


E VIDEO GAME MAG 


MAXIMUM NEWS 


Shigeru Miyamoto stamped his 

authority on Super NES mastery with 

Pilotwings - an incredible 3D aerial , 
escapade which rammed home the ) 
technical superiority of Nintendo's 16- . 
bit technology, Over a year ago 
Nintendo announced that Miyamato 
was collaborating with arch-simulation 
lords Paradigm and it was logically 
assumed that the outcome would be 
an NU64 version of Pilotwings. The 
Shoshinkai show finally confirmed that 
and we got our first look at the game. 

Pilotwings 64 effectively shows off 
what the Ultra is best at - stunning-look- 
ing 3D with no horrible clipping or poly- 
gon warping, At this stage in develop- 
ment, it's very difficult to judge what the 
game's actual objectives are, as the 
Super NES version's aerial rings no 
longer seem to be present. 

What is obvious, however, is an 
entirely new range of characters and a 
substantially different assortment of vehicles to fly with. In the line-up you'll find 
gyrocopters (similar to “Little Nellie” in the James Bond film You Only Live Twice), 
rocket jet-packs and hang-gliders. 

The buttons on the far right of the pad control the perspective, as in all the NU64 
games on show. Like Virtua Racing and its brethren, it's possible to view the action 
from four different viewpoints. Again, control is achieved using the “3D thumb 
pad” in the centre of the joypad 

It's very clear to see the simulation heritage behind Pilotwings, and having expe- 
rienced the quality of Paradigms SGl-based flight sims, it's clear to see that the 
NU64 game matches up quite closely graphically. The range of scenery is quite 
incredible and the speed and fluidity seems, on the most part, to be extremely To vere 
impressive when compared to the 3D worlds we've experienced with Saturn and 
PlayStation. One tiny aspect that concerns MAXIMUM is the fluctuating frame rate 
which hopefully will be addressed in the final version of the game. 


Like Goldeneye 007, it's clear that 
only a fraction of what PilotWings has 
to offer has been revealed so far by 
Nintendo. But the question has to be: 
why wasn't the game on display? 
Rumours circulating around the 
Shoshinkai seemed to indicate that 
although Pilotwings is graphically up- 
to-scratch, there's still a great deal of 
work to be done in getting the feel of 
the game right - hence its inclusion as 
a video-only product at the show. 


AB kmnvAb 


106 MAXIMUM » THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


MAXIMUM NEWS 


SOFTWARE CREATIONS FLY THE FLAG 


Gamers who once owned a Spectrum, C64 or NES should be instantly familiar with 
the company called Software Creations, Responsible for some of the most playable 
games on those respective systems, the company have established an excellent repu- 
tation for quality product - as well as a good, long-standing working relationship with 
Nintendo, 

Only brief nanoseconds’ worth of video footage have been 
released of their debut NU64 title: Creator. The question is, just 
what exactly is Creator? What does it do... and why? 

MAXIMUM can only provide the sketchiest of answers at this 
point. What is clear is that Creator isn’t really a game in the 
strict sense of the word, and we have it on good authority that 
it isn't a simulation game in the style of Sim Earth or anything 
like that. The good money is on Creator being a user-based 
rendering system, enabling gamers to easily create their own 
3D worlds, animate them and populate them with creatures (in 
the style of the T-Rex pictured on these pages). Apologies for 
the lack of definitive detail, but it would appear that despite the game's debut on 
the Shoshinkai floor, Nintendo's non-disclosure gagging orders remain in full 
effect. Of course, more details should emerge in the coming weeks... 


LUCASARTS STRIKE BACK 


Aside from the forthcoming Miyamoto-produced and Rare produce, one game that 
was highly anticipated for the Shoshinkai was Lucasarts’ first NU64 product, Star 
Wars: Shadow of the Empire. Again, as seemed to be the overall effect of the 
Shoshinkai, everyone (including MAXIMUM) was left gagging for more. 

Shadow of the Empire appears to be set in the same time frame as The Empire 
Strikes Back and the single level on show was a real-time NU64 
recreation of the battle on Hoth, with the player in command of 
a rebel snowspeeder, taking on the huge AT-AT walkers and 
2 | their two-legged AT-ST brethren. 

As you can see from the screenshots, the amount of 3D detail 

in the graphics is unprecedented. In no Star Wars game ever 

- —--—- have we seen 3D models running in real-time that are so close 

ULTRA DETAIL to the original effects from the trilogy. Take a look at the 


QUTAS~ 


an 


arya 


Nintendo Ultra 64 has the graph snowspeeder for example and you can see an incredibly faithful 
irae model. Even the rear-mounted cannon and moving wing-flaps 


make an appearance. 
The only problem we can foresee with this game concerns its 
frame rate. In the demo shown, it seemed to change rapidly; 


The legendary LucasArts unveil their first Ultra product! 
Is this the best Star Wars game to date? 


30 made! 


super-smooth when just the snowspeeder is on its own, but quite jerky if you fly around an AT-AT, Particularly 
in the internal viewpoint. 

It's perhaps rash and indeed harsh to judge this product too soon, particularly when all that was seen was 
some carefully prepared video footage, but we're trying to be honest here. Shadow of the Empire looks like 
it has a huge amount of potential (and remember, we just saw one level), but a great deal of the other games 
looked better. 


DMA’S ULTRA DESIGNS... 


What was extremely good to see was the level of quality NU64 product emanating from the British Isles. Yet 
another UK-originated product was Body Harvest by DMA - a company previously known for quality works 
such as Lemmings and its myriad sequels (except the last one) 

Their debut Ultra outing is Body Harvest, a game which features the player blasting the living daylights 
out of alien invaders intent on eating humans! Fair enough. 

Actually, although this wasn't the best-looking game revealed at 
Shoshinkai, MAXIMUM has high hopes for this product. It is reminiscent of an 
aged Activision title on the Amiga called Hunter, with the player able to patrol 
the landscapes on foot, in ground-based vehicles, in boats and in air-craff. If 
Body Harvest matches the freedom of movement the Amiga classic offered, 
along with true 64-bit visuals and more advanced gameplay, this could well 
turn out to be one classic video game. 

Again, as is the situation with all Ultra developers, non-disclosure orders are 
very much the order of the day, so until Nintendo of America lessen their secu- 
rity, a bit of an information void exists. Rest assured, we'll be continuing our 
in-depth investigations and should hopefully have something more to report 
on in the next edition of the magazine. 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE = MAXIMUM 107 


_ MAXIMUM NEWS 


What next from Shigeru Miyamoto? 
How about a WAVE RACE then! 


As well as Super Mario Kart R 
Nintendo revealed another racing 
game from the studios of Shigeru 
Miyamoto, Unashamedly referred to as 
F-Zero on water by Nintendo them- 
selves, Wave Race looks like being an 
absolutely outstanding release. Using 
the NU64's specialised graphics rou- 
tines, the machine is able to produce 
some uncannily realistic water effects, 
with the player in control of skimmer 
which speeds along at huge velocities. 
Again, realism truly comes to the fore 
here, with players able to use momen- 
tum to skid along road-side banks and 
over jumps - it's touches like these that 
should make Wave Race 64 an even 
more enjoyable title. Yes indeed, this is 
yet another Ultra title eagerly awaited 
by MAXIMUM. 


Nintendo roll out their entire catalogue of established Super NES characters! 
Zelda, Mario and StarFox are all slated to appear on NU64! 


One of the more visually pleasing Ultra titles had 
to be Buggie Boogie - an arena-based racing 
shooting game. The aim of the game is to con- 
struct your own buggie from the various parts 
and then blow the living daylights out of the 
‘opposition. The carnage takes place on some 
excellent workstation-quality backgrounds, with 
a huge amount of detail being used on the bug- 
gies themselves, Explosion fans are well catered 
for as well, as the Ultra's custom graphics produce some extremely impressive 
conflagrations. Visually, nothing you've seen on either Saturn or PlayStation can 
get anywhere near this. Buggie Boogie is yet another example impressive exam- 
ple of the Ultra’s power. 

Kirby Bow! 64 and StarFox 64 are the last two titles in the line-up, with both of them looking slightly dis- 
appointing at the moment, Our comments on Kirby Bowl can be found in the lead-in feature, but suffice to 
say that at the moment, it's not looking hugely impressive. The other game, Star Fox 64 appears to be very 
unfinished at the moment, and despite some clearly superior real-time 3D, the lack of freedom seen in the 
first StarFox game appears to be back with a vengeance in SF64 

Also gracing us with his presence in the shape of a character demonstration was Link in The Legend of 
Zelda 64, This showed Link doing battle with a metallic creature and was supposed to represent what we're 
going to be seeing in the forthcoming 64DD game - our source at Nintendo warned us to expect something 
totally different - and far superior to what was revealed here. 


108 MAXIMUM «© THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


MAXIMUM NEWS 


RARE-ING TO GO 


As the first programming team outside of Japan to get hold of the 
finished NU64 development systems, it was inevitable that Rare 
were going to be revealing a great deal of exciting Ultra product. 
This was duly delivered at the Shoshinkai, although some of the 
games that weren't on show came as something of a surprise 

Although it was announced many, many months ago, the 
Shoshinkai was the first opportunity to view Rare's forthcoming 
Goldeneye translation, Previously thought to be a Super NES title 
using Rare’s unparalleled 16-bit ACM technology, the Bond game 
has gone straight to NU64, taking the form of a first person perspective 3D shooting - if you will, a cross 
between Doom and Virtua Cop. Not much has been revealed at all - merely a shoot out scene between Bond 
and enemy agents set in a bland-looking Russian military base. Rare have revealed that further missions 
involve covert missions (run around not trying to make much noise), sabotage missions and rescue tasks. 
So, a fair degree of variety is promised 

MAXIMUM believes that Goldeneye was being deliberately under-played at the Shoshinkai. It's clear that 
the graphical engine behind Goldeneye is capable of some great things as in terms of player animation and 
frame rate, the game is most impressive indeed. Perhaps only revealing what is in truth a very dull level of 
the game (albeit close to the scene in the film!) is meant to build up anticipation for the final product. 


Rare have a whole host of incredible NU64 titles lined up! Check these out... 


Looking far more impressive to Shoshinkai delegates was Rare’s Blastdozer. 
From what was revealed of the game, it appears that mass destruction is the order 
of the day. A vehicle carrying a large nuclear device is ploughing through different 
towns and cities and if it hits anything, it's game over (courtesy of a large explo- 
sion). Your job is to take your demolition vehicle ahead, and clear the way. This 
could have been running on a Silicon Graphics workstation as the graphics were 
extremely impressive. The animation on the assorted vehicles (including a JCB) is 
second to none and the explosions and resulting debris clearly reward successful 
destruction with a visual feast of entertainment, The 3D world is also superlative. 
clearly showing that the NU64 is technologically leagues ahead of anything we've 
seen so far. This is one NU6S title that we're really looking forward to, Even from 
the precious seconds of the game that we saw, it's clear that this is going to be a 
hot game, 


WHAT WASN’T THERE FROM RARE? 


Well, Kong basically. After the ACM delights of Donkey Kong Country and Diddy's 
Kong Quest, we were expecting to see some work on a new NU64 platformer star- 
ring everyone's favourite gorilla family. Despite some pretty substantial rumours 
about a fully 3D rendered platform adventure, nothing was forthcoming whatso- 
ever at the Shoshinkai, As usual, Rare are Keeping a huge amount of information 
under wraps concerning their NU64 work which of course questions the very exis- 
tence of the project, but one likely answer would be that there as only room for 
one 3D platformer at Shoshinkai and Mario was its name. 

Also another big surprise from Nintendo was the total no-show of anything even | SLASTDOZER BRILLIANCE! 
remotely Killer Instinct related. Nintendo of America is on record as saying that retired adeeb alll 
Rare are currently working on a NU64 sequel to the original arcade machine, and 
a new character for the game was demoed at the LA Siggraph show earlier this 
year, 80 to all intents and purposes, it exists. In fact, if what we are told is true, we 
should be experiencing a totally 3D KI game on NU64. A Nintendo insider told 
MAXIMUM that the game's non-appearance had to do with the fact that as a fight- 
ing game, the original was not really that well received in Japan and this particu- iont conflagrations 
lar project was more NoA territory. “We're thinking about not selling it in Japan, but =— 
it is quite popular in America... It’s quite an extreme game and in Japan it would 
not be welcomed so much: 

Fair enough, but if there was one thing lacking from the games on display, it had 
to be evidence of any credible fighting games. For the Japanese public, it's clear 
that for the time being, Sega's Saturn conversion of Virtua Fighter 2 has little 
(make that no) competition. 


spn) 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE »* MAXIMUM 109 


One of the most eagerly awaited titles on the PlayStation so far has finally been released on 
import; Toshinden 2 is now available in Japan, and marks Takara’s largest undertaking on the 
PlayStation so far. With the help of Tamsoft and a set of Capcom developers, the Sony 
machine has finally been granted the sequel to one of the most beautiful beat ‘em ups ever. 


MAXIMUM has followed the progress of this title over the 
last two issues, and with the arrival of the finished product, we 
expected great improvements over the original. Unfortunately, 
we came away with mixed feelings. 

On the plus side, Toshinden 2 superficially appears to be a 
much more polished product than the first title, and this is appar. 
ent from the introduction onwards. The programming team has 
dispensed with the appaling scrolling text intro, and has 
attempted a more lavish approach instead, This has resulted in 
a mixture of actors, CG rendered characters and actual polygon 
combatants all strutting their collective stuff to the accompani- 


ment of a suitably over-the-top guitar-based musak. 

Once the game eventually begins, players are welcomed with the familiar scrolling 
text title screen with comprehensive options aplenty. You may choose from a one 
player mode with eight opponents to face, a full battle featuring (nearly) all the 
assembled characters, a verses human mode and a practice mode where comput 
er opponents may be selected. Finally, the huge options mode enables various but 
tons to be assigned, but the large amount of Japanese text makes reconfiguring 
somewhat problematic 

Once the options screen is safely negotiated, the game itself actually starts, and 
this is when the main deficiencies become apparent. In an effort to match the speed 
of rival titles (such as Virtua Fighter 2 and the forthcoming Tekken 2), Tamsoft have 
upped the speed of the game, and have created an extremely fast action combat 
game that benefits from breathtaking light-sourcing and the usual lavish backdrops 
(but appears very jerky when compared to the competition). What hasn't been 
achieved however, is any sort of fluidity in the movements of the characters, and this 
stilted motion-capture unfortunately detracts substantially from the overall presenta 
tion, 

The other major flaw with the fighting itself is the lack of innovation. Anyone 
expecting an extensive overhaul in the gameplay department is likely to be less than 
impressed, as the choice of original characters have little more to offer than they 
originally did in the first game. Moves are implemented by simple button pressing 
and although there are taunts, the special manoeuvres are distressingly easy to pull 


COMPTON | HIN 


MASFER 


‘ee . 


TOTAL | MIN 


VERMILION 


off (although the options screen allows button reconfiguration) leading to a somewhat dull match with both fighters launch: 
ing a series of spectacular magical attacks at each other from relative safety. Make the super moves harder to execute and 


the game becomes more entertaining, despite the simple nature of the combat. 


Upon examining the characters in greater detail, it is the three newcomers that have the most to offer. The disrobed Gaia i 

has a number of Bastar-based attacks, and uses a fan to blow magical fiery breath, whilst police-girl Tracy employs a pair of qun dow 
electric nightsticks to inflict pain with just as much efficiency (and looks very similar indeed to characters from the new - 
Fighting Vipers coin-op). The finest of all the second-wave contestants has to be the weird and skeletal Chaos, an other-world 


110 MAXIMUM «+ THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZIN 


entity with a good selection of impressive moves that con- 
found and flummux foes, and some very strange victory 
poses, 

Of course, this wouldn't be a next generation fighting game 
without a number of bosses and secret characters, and 
Toshinden 2 delivers four hidden characters to access; and all 
of them spruce up the action considerably. The penultimate 
battle places your warrior in a heavenly chamber with a tow- 
ering angel of light known unfortunately as Uranus. This spirit 
of good has an ethereal bow which she uses to fire flaming 
arrows, and has a devastating charge attack amongst her 
arsenal of supernatural combat powers, and also bears more 


than a passing resemblance to Tekken 2's own angel. The final boss is the enigmatic Master, a small waif- 
like Ellis clone that uses a variety of huge summoning swords to deal death, Both these bosses are excel- 
lent to view (except when in motion) but both suffer bouts of inactivity and are distressingly easy to beat 
unless playing on the hardest of difficulty settings. Then the whole game becomes rather tiresome 

Of much greater interest are the two ultra-hidden bosses that MAXIMUM can exclusively reveal; the 
excellent Sho and the arch-villain Vermilion. Sho is still the fastest character in the game, and has received 


MAXIMUM NEWS 


Despite the lack of innovation, this still is an astounding improvement over the original! 


a couple of new additions, benefiting from a new air kick and a super special 
attack. However, his roll is sluggish and his stage appears in monochrome accom- 
panied by the excellent Tocatta and Fuge which unfortunately meanders into a 
horrible rock monstrosity. Most exciting, is the final boss; a 1920s black-caped 
shadowy figure known as Vermilion. ‘Big Verm’ has some excellent attacks, and 
almost all of them involve the unloading of ammunition from the pair of antique 
firearms that he carries, and his stage is an atmospheric woodland graveyard at 
dusk. After the previous lack of innovation, these unique bosses salvage some 
gameplay from an otherwise disappointing sequel 

In spite of these rather serious problems, this is still an interesting beat ‘em up 
that plays and looks far better than the Saturn conversion of the original (as you 
would expect). Toshinden 2 has much 
to offer the beginner, but little to enter- 
tain the professional fighting game 
fanatic. Fans of the first Toshinden 
game are sure to lap up this second 
instalment with great relish, but those 
gamers wishing more in the way of 
playability should be wary of the flaws 
mentioned previously. MAXIMUM 
hopes that the enhanced coin-op ver- 
sion receives a substantial tweaking 
before being released in Japan 


Saturn TOSHINDEN S secrets! 
The deadly Cupido is revealed! 


The Saturn conversion of Toshinden is set to make an official appearance sometime in 
February, and as Sega are handling this themselves, this should mean a rather slick PAL optimisa- 
tion if we're lucky. Meanwhile, more has been uncovered on the mystery fighters contained in the 
game. As you would expect, both Sho and Gaia make their obligatory appearances, but also pre- 
sent is another Saturn-only warrior, known as Cupido, Small and speedy, this maiden of death can 


be controlled, and is able to unleash a number of 
scythe-based arching attacks. Her home-world is the 
courtyard of a decaying castle located deep beneath 
the bowels of the Earth making Cupido an excellent 
addition to the roster of characters arena. 


SS ee s 


PLAYER SELECT 


THE VIDEO GAME MA\ 


ZINE « MAXIMUM 1117 


112 MAXIMUM »* THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZIN 


Capcom have finally delivered the beat-em-up that everyone has been 
waiting for - an almost arcade-perfect version of Street Fighter Zero on 
the Sony PlayStation. Available in Japan since December 29, this latest 
incarnation (known as Street Fighter Alpha in the UK) pits ten of the 
world’s deadliest warriors against one another in a battle royale taking 
place before the World Warrior's tournament of Street Fighter 2. 


As regular readers of MAXIMUM are no doubt aware, the coin-op has featured 
prominently in previous issues and with good reason; it is arguably the most well 
rounded and playable 2D beat ‘em up released in the arcades last year, and now 
home users can enjoy an excellent conversion of this first-class fighter. 

As this is the home version, there are many new options available that allow the 
fights to be tailored to your particular needs. Bouts can now last one, three or five 
rounds, all the stages may be selected and even the music can be switched 
between the original arcade tunes or some funky remixes. Added to this is an 
arcade, verses and training mode, whilst a turbo setting finishes off the wealth of 
extra features; all of which add to the overall professional appearance expected of 
Capcom 

Many new features have also made their way into combat itself, making for an 
even more playable fight. Players may now counter opponent's attacks (providing 
they have lightning dexterity), but the main addition is the Super Combo bar locat- 
ed at the bottom of the screen which is the key to unleashing some spectacular 


special moves. Each character has at least two of these shadow attacks that 
can inflict monumental amounts of damage. Other, more subtle tweaks have 
also occurred, such as the differing victory icons that appear depending on 
the technique that you use to defeat the enemy. 

As you can see from the surrounding screen shots, other characters make 
an appearance from the coin-op. MAXIMUM can reveal that Akuma (known 
as Gouki), M Bison (Vega) and Dan are all present and selectable, but with 
cheats that differ from the arcade version - but we can exclusively reveal 
them on this page. As an extra bonus, Capcom have included the special 
battle featuring both Ryu and Ken against M Bison in a battle taken straight 
out of the animated film, but only when certain conditions are met. All these 
extra secrets, along with high scores and button configurations, may be 
saved on memory cards for future use. 

The only minor problems MAXIMUM found were with the loading times 
(which are annoying but never lengthy) 
and the speed of the game. Although 
never sluggish, the fighting lacks the fran 
tic action of Saturn XMen's Turbo, but is 
still fast enough for many players, MAXI- 
MUM found the PlayStation pad to be 
rather user-unfriendly when it came to 
some of the more complex manoeuvres of 
the game. 

These slight quibbles aside, Street 
Fighter Zero stands out as a PlayStation 
gem (especially compared to the current 
crop of uninspiring titles) that deserves 
weighty praise, and we are counting on an 
excellent PAL optimisation when the game 
gets an official release at some stage this 
year. We do highly recommend getting a 


MAXIMUM NEWS 


oui x=? 


— 
+100: 
AnOne 
ZIT COMBO 


900PTS 


new pad when playing any Capcom fighting game on PlayStation as the Sony pad just wasn't built for this kind of game. 

As mentioned elsewhere, Capcom have included video footage of two forthcoming games as an extra bonus, Resident Evil (under 
the Japanese name of Biohazard) and Street Fighter Interactive Movie are both available to view. One of these games is set to take 
the world by storm, whilst the other is a teeth-grinding travesty. We'll leave it to you to decide which is which, but those unsure of the 
answer should read on 


STREET FIGHTER INTERACTIVE MOVIE 

Capcom seem to be alternating between excellent and second-rate soft- 
ware, as the frankly appalling Street Fighter Interactive Movie shows 
With nearly as little to offer the prospective punter as the tragic Street 
Fighter Real Battle on Film, the animated version places you in control 
of a Shadowlaw cyborg that must record various Street Fighter charac- 
ters fighting each other. What this entails is the watching just under an 
hour of the animated film and zooming cross-hairs around the screen 
when a heavy bout of fisticuffs occurs. With successful recordings, the 
cyborg’s repertoire grows until he faces off against Ryu for a battle. 
Watching the film on video is one thing, but gazing at tiny video box of 
the movie and clicking on characters is both pointless and extremely 
frustrating. You cannot skip the video action unless you watch the film 
to the end and have a memory card handy, and the actual fight is unbe- 
lievably slow and one-sided unless you're prepared to spend hours 
clicking on every fight you can. The launch of this alongside the vastly 
superior SF Zero is puzzling, and unless you're a masochistic manga 
freak, leave this one well alone. 


JUGGERNAUT in X-Men Saturn shocker! 


It’s an old cliche, but as this issue of MAXIMUM went to press, we discovered the cheat to play as the unstoppable 

Juggernaut in the Saturn version of X-Men - and here are some pictures to prove it! The cheat only works in Versus Mode. 

Use the Akuma cheat (as revealed on page 65) and fight one game as the mysterious SF2 combatant. When you return to 
X-MEN 


the character select screen, press UP/LEFT twice to reveal Juggernaut! This works for both players, allowing for some truly 
titanic battles. A full moves list for both bosses and the Magneto code is duly promised for MAXIMUM issue #4. 


I'M UNSTOPP 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE * MAXIMUM 113 


MAXIMUM NEWS 


At the recent Toshimaen Show in Japan, Sega unveiled early work on one of its most promising sequels: 
Panzer Dragoon 2 (or Zwei, as it's currently known). The original game remains one of the most stunning look- 
ing 3D shoot 'em ups available for the new machines and the sequel looks like being far superior. 


The answer to the above question isn't immediately obvious. The game's creators, Team Andromeda, have only released 
avery early demo, which they believe is around 15% complete. It features just the one level - a barren, desert-like terrain, with 
the occasional cliff face making an appearance. However, even in this demo, it's clear that there are several differences which 
should make Panzer Dragoon 2 far more entertaining than the previous game. 

The first immediate difference to behold is the fact that the dragon itself is a lot more versatile. As well as flying, certain 

areas of the stage are traversed on foot, which is accompanied by some excellent animation on the dragon, which inciden- 
tally, has been totally redesigned, At the moment, the 
same range of weaponry is open to the player - that is, 
a rapidly firing photon crossbow along with some lock- 
‘on homing missiles although it is understood that this 
may be increased in the final game. 
The one big criticism levelled at Panzer Dragoon was 
the lack of freedom of movement. Like StarFox, Space 
Harrier and Afterburner, you always flew forward, with 
‘only minimal lateral movement. For the most part, this 
remains the case in the sequel, although Team 
Andromeda have introduced several “forks” in the lev- 
els - this means that there are different routes through, 
boosting the replay factor of the game significantly. A 
far deeper storyline is planned for Panzer 2, with many 
more cut-scenes taking place in the game. This is 
expected to set the stage for a forthcoming Panzer 
Dragon role-playing title which Sega have confirmed 
will appear “in the far future’ 


It seems clear - even at this early stage - that Panzer Dragoon 2 looks like being something of a winner for Sega. We're being promised bet- 
ter gameplay, more freedom and some pretty awe-inspiring graphics. What's seen here is being touted as hardly comparable to the planned 
visual spectacular that awaits in the finished game. The original Panzer was something of a MAXIMUM favourite (and it's still worth buying even 
now, eclipsing many recent next generation releases) and we look forward intensely to the finished product. 

Release dates for the sequel are understandably rather vague at the moment. A tentative release of March has been touted by Sega, but don't 
be surprised if it slips until the summer, MAXIMUM will be following the progress of this product avidly, so expect further updates in later issues. 


114 MAXIMUM « THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


_ MAXIMUM NEWS 


SONIC and AM2 team-up for new coin-op! 


Hot news is emanating trom the labs of acclaimed Sega coin-op creators, AM2. They 
have begun work on an all-new 3D fighting game using the same Model-2B technology as 
Fighting Vipers - but this time Sonic the Hedgehog is the star of the show. 

AM2 Director Mr Suzuki and Sonic creator Mr Naka gave a recent joint-interview to discuss ‘FIGHTING SONIC” 
their plans for the project, which is currently in the very early stages of preparation. Says Mr 

Naka: “I just couldn't think of Sonic as a fighting game - | was worried about whether he 
could really fight, considering his large head and short arms... | was amazed at how smooth- 
ly Sonic moved - we were delighted. At this stage in development, | felt that if my early 
impressions were good and Mr Suzuki could make it this good, we would have no more wor- 
ries." Mr Suzuki added: “If Mr Naka had disapproved, 
I'd have given up. 

In the version shown, the graphics were at a very 
early stage, with only flat polygon renditions of Sonic 
and Tails duking it out on an early version of the infa- 
mous Green Hill Zone. The animation is superb, 
matching Fighting Vipers and VF2, but this time with 
the action firmly based in the realms of fantasy, AM2 
can really let their imagination run riot. 

The usual cast of Sonic characters - Tails, Knuckles 
and of course, Robotnik are planned to appear. 
However, Mr Naka personally requested that AM2 
expand upon the characters and the Sonic world of 
Moebius and is looking forward to AM2’s contribution. 
“Anyone who attempts a Sonic game has a duty to cre- 
ate new characters, so we shall have a go at one or 
two,” said Mr Suzuki. Despite the usual rumours, the 
official word from AM2 on a Saturn conversion is that at 
the moment it is only “under consideration’ 


Details on the latest AM2 fighting game plus intriguing info on future arcade games! 


SONIC TEAM DUE TO LAND ON SATURN 


During the course of the now annual Sonic Team/AM2 joint-interview, several details emerged on the new Saturn project being devel- 
oped by Mr Naka and the original Sonic Team. It's their first project since Megadrive Sonic and Knuckles after which the team left the 
US to return to Japan 

Having moved on from the preliminary working title of “Nights” or “Knights”, the game is said to usher in a new level of 3D graphical 
excellence on the Sega Saturn. Asked about the project Sonic Team director Mr Naka said: “At present, we have the best staff and are 
working on the best action game... We hope to surprise you again as we did when we revealed the first Sonic game. We feel it'll be 
effective, so you can look forward to something good.”. Sonic Team project director Mr Oshima remarked, “I think | can show you some 
graphics which you wouldn't believe possible with Saturn.” 

Details such as game genre and a release date are still unconfirmed but it is thought that the game is planned to be unveiled as soon 
as Nintendo go public in a big way with their Ultra wares. If there's one thing Sega aren't lacking 
at the moment, it's certainly confidence. 


AM2 LEAK NEW PROJECT DETAILS 


The Model-3 board is complete and Yu Suzuki is so happy with the technology that he has shown 
a very early 30% complete version of Virtua Fighter 3 to the Japanese press, Mr Suzuki has also 
started a very early “teaser campaign in order to introduce a new character (see the appropri- 
ate caption) for the new game. The response from Japanese hacks to the new VF game has, not 
surprisingly, been ecstatic. The press saw an incomplete Lau performing his moves on the new 
Model-3 board and confirmed that the graphics bear an uncanny resemblance to the CG discs 
released over the last few months (see page 135 for the latest AM2 CG meisterwerks). 

Other projects are currently being prepped for arcade releases, and heavy hints have been 
dropped about a Model-3 based Virtua Cop 3 due for 
the end of the year. Also, another AM2-originated road 
racing game is a hot contender, this time based 
around European supercars 


CALENDER HERALDS NEW VF CHARACTER 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE * MAXIMUM 115 


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MAXIMUM NEWS | 


The Bogard brothers are back for an unbelievable fifth appearance in the lat: 
est addition to the ‘Legend of the Hungry Wolf Fatal Fury fighting family. Real Bout 
Fatal Fury has been released into arcades across Japan, and is proving to be just 
as popular as the preceding games of this series. Neo Geo fans with unquench- 
able appetites for 2D fighting extravaganzas should start salivating immediately, as 
this promises to top all previous incarnations, and reaches the Japanese home 
market on January 13 (cartridge) and early February (CD version) 

A quick glance around the page shows that the graphics have largely been left 
unchanged; the main differences lie in the storyline, characters and playability, The 
storyline follows on from the previous competition in a roundabout way with a 
scroll of mysterious documents falling into the hands of the revived Geese Howard 
These documents are obviously in demand, as the Fatal Fury trio are out to take them back in another tournament-based 
fighting festival. But other contestants have appeared out of the shadows with their own secret agendas. 

The game features the ten contestants from the previous competition as well as six newcomers (and of course, the possi- 
bility of hidden characters). As this is a Fatal Fury game, Terry, Andy and Joe all appear, as well as Kim Kaphan, Duck King 

Blue Mary and the infamous Bob Wilson. Amongst the new blood we find Jin Chonrei and 
iP : Jin Chonshu; brother and sister clad in oversized traditional overcoats, and a tall muscu- 
— EE ~& lar lout known as Yamakazi 

N CHONSHU Playability wise, this is a remodelling of the essential features that made previous Fatal 
Fury games so popular, with tweakings to the two-level rage gauge and other minor 
adjustments. The trade-mark combination attacks have been made substantially easier to 
achieve, leading to a more frenzied style of fight, and the ‘over-sway' system of jumping 
into and out of the arena has been upgraded to allow three tiers of play (and pseudo 3D 
effects in mid-combat). The actual arenas themselves have received a slight tweaking 
with a variety of breakable objects placed at the perimeters. Once the objects are broken, 
fighting becomes more tense, as another hit of this type causes a ‘ring out’, anda differ- 
ent approach to fighting starts. Another criticism of Fatal Fury games was the problem 
with producing super-special attacks; known as ‘Super Death Blows’, and SNK seem to 
be taken this on board with easier-to-produce moves that are spectacular to behold 
From first impressions, this looks to be another Fatal Fury success story, but MAXIMUM. 
is reserving judgment until the final product arrives. Until then, gather your strength in 
readiness for the ultimate encounter with the madman Geese Howard! 


1 UM 
PSE 


D-based console in Japan in 


h British developers Rare are testing out near-complete versions of Killer 
ppears to be the sam pr Instinct 2 at selected arcades across the US, as they ready the game for an 
xcept for on mt dilfer American release in a few months time. Featuring the same distinctive visuals that 
drew crowds to the first offering, Killer Instinct 2 has eleven selectable characters 
at the time of writing, along with numerous rendered backdrops and sparkling spe- 
cial moves. From these eleven fighters, three are entirely new; Tusk, Kim Wu and 
bil p Maya. Tusk is a Barbarian from the northern wastes, whilst Kim Wu hails from a 
clan of Ninja and Maya appears to be a jungle vixen. As expected, an earlier ver: 
sion of the game featuring gratuitous use of female anatomy in the CG cut-scenes 
in owners can now look forward to (Orchid's introduction was a particularly explicit example) was censored by the 
N politically correct Nintendo of America, leading to a toned-down final version. More importantly, the gameplay has been 
revamped to include a power meter, fake manoeuvres, dashes and a damage percent rating after combos. Fans of the orig 
90 inal will be pleased to note that those infamous combos are back with a vengeance, and from the interest on the internet 
Killer 2 looks set to be a success when it finally makes it back to these shores. 

Interestingly enough, Killer Instinct 2 is not being converted for the Nintendo Ultra 64 at the time of writing; as Rare seem 
to be working on a Ultra 64-only version with a true 3D arena instead of the pseudo 3D affair enjoyed by arcade goers in the 
English-speaking world. In Japan, however, Killer Instinct proved to be extremely unpopular to such an extent that there are 
[ no plans to release it on the Nintendo console in Japan. The MAXIMUM team is in agreement with the majority of Japanese 
n so gamers on this point: Killer Instinct relied too heavily on tedious button pressing for the ‘awesome’ combos, but we are ready 
badly needs to forgive and forget these failings providing the second instalment is substantially improved. We'll have more information as 
soon as we can, but for further information on this game, consult the February issue of Nintendo Magazine System. 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE * MAXIMUM 117 


Huge numbers of PlayStation racing game fanatics throughout Japan 
are now the proud owners of Ridge Racer Revolution - arguably the 
finest racer ever seen on any of the super consoles. On December 3, 
exactly a year to the day since the Japanese launch of the PlayStation, 
Namco released the mother of all driving games, and MAXIMUM is 
pleased to report that the Japanese version is everything we expected it 
to be - and more. 


The biggest change of all is the introduction of the Revolution course. This 
track has not featured in any other Namco racing game, and offers three distinct 
variations, all of which must be conquered before some of the game's many 
secrets can begin to be uncovered. Providing you've played the original before 
(and let's face it, who hasn't?), you'll know the method of selecting the extra cours: 
es; where you race the original track backwards against more competent drivers. 
Also present is the infamous mirror mode, where reflections of any track can be 
attempted 

The new course shares the scenic themes of the first Ridge Racer track, but is 
sufficiently different to entertain a second tidal wave of interest from owners of the 
original. The course begins on a central freeway, with a huge skyscraper looming 
upwards in the distance. After passing under this, you enter a short tunnel bear- 
ing left, before appearing next to a beach while a light aircraft buzzes off into the 
distance. Negotiating around the seaside area, your car climbs past a sprawling 
hotel before turning right, down through a valley. After a spectacular jump, a hor- 


ribly sharp left corner needs expert skill to be swerved through, before a snaking 
stretch of roadway surrounded by sea in encountered, This ends in another sharp 
corner (this time to the right) before a blast through a long tunnel and the finish- 
ing straight of the city. From now on however, the action reaches new levels of ten- 
sion, as you'll discover when witnessing the turns of the roadways on the 
Advanced and Expert tracks. 

The tracks are not the only aspect of the game that the Namco programmers 
have spent a vast amount of time tweaking to get just right. The option screens are 
some of the most user friendly ever seen in a video game, and the excellent range 
of changes show just how profession a job Namco has made. After your initial car 
selection (where any of the cars and tracks can be viewed from almost any angle). 
you may choose the type of model (which also acts as a guide for the drone cars 
top speed), track and finally choice of race. The race type is chosen from three dif 
ferent options; a twelve-car driving frenzy, a two(or three)-car time trial where the 
speed limits hit an all-time high, and an endurance mode used for practising a par: 
ticular course where yours is the sole car. A final decision rests in your hands once 
certain secrets have been acquired - you can even change the time of day for your 
race from noon to night! 


FACE OFF AGAINST THE DEVILS AND AN ANGEL!! 

Hidden away are the real stars of the game - the ultimate racing vehicles. Ridge 
Racer Revolution features not one but three hidden extra cars, taking the total 
number of controllable vehicles to a massive 15! Aside from the initial four cars, 
there are another eight to select after the Galaga '88 start-up screen, bringing the 


118 MAXIMUM * THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


0’ 50"578 


2°46 "582 


_ MAXIMUM NEWS 


er PaySaton ue ash 


total to twelve. However, after these become available, the 
fun begins in earnest with three mysterious cars entering the 
Ridge Racer competition. Although we haven't specified 
how these ultra cars can be selected, we can reveal their 
exact specifications, 

First off the starting grid is the Racing 13, or ‘Devil’ car as 
it come to be known. This is the phenomenally speedy 
secret car of the first Ridge Racer game, and grips the road 
like no other vehicle ever seen. The handling of this frankly 
supernatural racing model is the finest seen, and the maxi- 
mum speed is bewildering. The other two cars are com- EMR ue) 
pletely new, and the first of these is the Chibi Devil, or ‘Little 
Devil’ car. This sporty version of the Devil car has the fastest Mesut) 
acceleration of any car in Ridge Racer Revolution with a top 
speed to match. However, it corners and grips the road like 
a donkey, and is essentially a suped-up version of the four 
Solvalou cars, The final secret car is the awesome White 
Angel; a car that even surpasses the abilities of the Devil 
vehicle. An attractive white sporting model with a blue angel 
motive, this has the fastest top speed (an amazing 286 kph), acceleration and superior han: 
dling that puts all other cars to shame. Only the grip is average; but this is a blessing when 
negotiating the winding tracks of the Revolution course, as power-sliding is easy to achieve 
and therefore bends are less of a problem. Could this be the ultimate driving machine in Ridge t 
Racer Revolution? It certainly looks that way for now. y ee Y 


GO HEAD-TO-HEAD WITH THE UNBELIEVABLE LINK-UP MODE! a abled ab 
The icing on the cake Is what fans of the original had been up in arms about for months - a ser. ghtning is no easy task 
lal-linked two player game of Ridge Racer. This is what Namco have delivered, and some mem- youl never war 

bers of the MAXIMUM team reckon it plays better than WipeOut. Once you've connected your 
Japanese PlayStations together (along with the necessary televisions and cabling), the game 
automatically recognises the serial link and informs you of the extra features. 

The link-up option is what the vast majority of PlayStation owners will be buying this game 
for, and the extended features (such as a handicap mode for beginners) present in two-player 
mode doesn’t disappoint. As the screen shots indicate, the original Ridge Racer course (plus 
the extended version of it) is a two-player-only extra that adds months of playability to an 
already in-depth and enthralling driving 
title. Adding to the lastability is the fact 
that there are a total of 15 different cars 
(that we've found so far) for both play- 
ers to access via various hidden 
cheats, although there are only four to 
begin with. Namco should feel justly 
proud of creating what to some is the 
greatest driving game ever seen out- 
side the arcades. 


MORE RIDGE RACER REVOLUTION OVER THE PAGE - THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE * MAXIMUM 119 


MAXIMUM NEWS 


MAXIMUM invades Namco R&D headquarters! 
RIDGE RACER REVOLUTION development team quizzed! 


The Japanese development team 
members involved in the creation of 
Ridge Racer Revolution were kind 
enough to speak to MAXIMUM from 
Namco R&D headquarters in 
Yokohama. In this in-depth interview, 
members of the Ridge Racer 
Revolution development team talk 
about all aspects of the game, and 
offer some interesting news on the 
future of Ridge Racer... 


MAXIMUM Congratulations on anoth- 
er excellent racing title. Could you tell 


us a little more about the reasons 
behind the production of this game? 
RRR Team When we produced the 
original Ridge Racer [on the 
PlayStation], our aim was to make a 
straight conversion from the arcade 
version. This time, when we produced 
Ridge Racer Revolution, we wanted to 
add as many features as possible for 
the console, so that people could 
enjoy a more in-depth game. That's the 
apparent reason behind producing 
Ridge Racer Revolution and why we 
didn't attempt a straight conversion of 
Ridge Racer 2 or Rave Racer. Also for 
Revolution, we added the new race 
courses. By doing that, people who 
enjoy the arcade games (and the 
arcade Ridge Racer series) can also 
enjoy the new Ridge Racer with the 
new race courses. 


MAXIMUM What preparation was 
made for the actual programming? 
RRR Team We made the preliminary 
designs which we call the “free run” 
program, in order to make the exciting 
and original courses, and also verified 
them to see just how fast we could 
make the cars run at high speed. 


MAXIMUM How long did it take to pro- 
gram Ridge Racer Revolution? 
RRR Team About eight months 


MAXIMUM Can you break that down 
into graphical design and program- 
ming time? 

RRR Team It's difficult to do that as 


both these continued throughout the 
whole time period, Regarding the 
sound, the music mostly comes from 
Ridge Racer 2, so the sound took less 
time than the game. Once we have our 
graphic programming design, we can 
divide it into specific periods. 


MAXIMUM How many people were 
involved in development? 

RRR Team There were over 20 people 
in the development team and most 
people were newly gathered just for 
the PlayStation version. 


MAXIMUM So it was decided to have a 
new team just to work on PlayStation 
game development? 

RRR Team This team was gathered for 
Revolution, but each of the staff has 
been working on other console games. 
The detail of the graphics show the 
improvement in our skills and tech- 
nique. 


MAXIMUM Did you encounter any dif- 
ficulties with the PlayStation hardware? 
RRR Team Well, the main difficulties 
were with the link-up mode, running 
the program at high speed, and the 
inclusion of the rear-view mirror. 
However, we showed a version at the 
PlayStation Expo, and this was very 
well accepted by the many people 
attending. It was one of the biggest 
events of the show which we were very 
happy about. 


MAXIMUM You have said that the idea 


“When we produced Ridge Racer Revolution, we wanted to add as many features as possible for the console. 
By doing that, people who enjoy the arcade games can also enjoy the new Ridge Racer with the new courses.” 


120 MAXIMUM »* THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


of Revolution was to create a new 
game, and therefore you wanted to 
use as many facilities as the machine 
can offer, How much time prior to pro- 
gramming did the team spend explor- 
ing the capabilities of the PlayStation? 
RRR Team This may seem extreme, 
but really we just kept going, and did 
not know until the end whether we 
could do the high speed or not - the 
programmers tried desperately hard 
with that. Of course, at the beginning, 
we felt that we could possibly do the 
high speed, This was for about one or 
two months. Then after that we were 
confident to a certain extent that we 
could do it. Really, there were no times 
when we felt we could not do it. 


MAXIMUM Have you changed the car 
dynamics at all, such as the realism of 
the braking and acceleration? 

RRR Team The actual handling is real- 
ly like arcade Ridge Racer, but the drift 


feeling is like Ridge Racer 2 


MAXIMUM What about the intelligence 
of the enemy cars - has that changed? 
RRR Team Basically there are two new 
enemy cars. Compared to the origi- 
nals, some features of the new cars 
have had increases, some decreases; 
to get the right balance. 


MAXIMUM Was this the reason you 
included the rear-view mirror 

RRR Team Yes, with the rear-view mir- 
ror; you can interrupt the person in the 
car behind you, and this technique is 
used for link-up modes. When you 
compete with someone else you enjoy 
the play more. 


4 ives i} 


arcade Ridge Racer and Rave Racer. 


MAXIMUM Some of the music has 
been heard before (in Ridge Racer 2) - 
are there any RAR-only tracks, and 
have you any plans to release the 
music in a remixed audio CD (as they 
are very popular in Japan)? 

RRR Team There are some specific 
tracks, and the other music is the same 


MAXIMUM NEWS 


“We collected an enormous amount of background material; including hooks on design and construction. 
To create the feeling of horror we needed to have a solid background, so we choose a European-style house.” 


MAXIMUM Let's move on to the in- 
game music. This is some of the finest 
heard in a game - what bands or 
groups influenced you in the creation 
of the tunes? 

RRR Team There is no particular band 
nor group which we were influenced 
by in the creation of the tunes, 


MAXIMUM The music sounds very 
European and dancey - is that type of 
music very popular in Japan? 

RRR Team Yes, it is very popular in 
Japan, too! 


MAXIMUM How many people were 
involved in the music composition? 

RRR Team A total of four musicians, 
who were responsible for arcade Ridge 
Racer 2 and also did the music for 


as the Ridge Racer 2 coin-op. An audio 
CD (but not a remixed one) has 
already been released in Japan 


MAXIMUM In the development of 
Ridge Racer 1 and 2, did you work 
from any graphics libraries which other 
games could use for development (like 
a graphics engine or the Sega 
Graphics Library)? 

RRR Team Namco has had coopera- 
tion from Sony for a graphics library, 
but when making good games the 
standard libraries have limitations, so 
specialised ones have to be devel 
oped. We did one for Ridge Racer, so 
we are making a basic library. 


MAXIMUM Talking of Sega, how do 
you rate Sega Rally Championship on 


the Saturn? 
RRR Team Our answer is simple - 
Sega is doing a good job. 


MAXIMUM What are your plans for 
future software titles? If Ridge Racer 3 
was made, would you gather the same 
team together or would you use differ- 
ent people? 

RRR Team Not all staff would be gath- 
ered again - some we'd say Sayonara 
to - but others would come back so 
they could pass information and know- 
how on. Actually, we have started a 
new racing game, but at this moment it 
is not Ridge Racer 3. It is not a sequel 
but it is a racing game. 


MAXIMUM Now let's talk about game 
secrets, We found the Racing #13, 
Racing Kid and Angel cars. Are these 
the correct names and what cars were 
they designed from? 

RRR Team The English names haven't 
been decided yet. Chibi Devil is the 
correct name for Racing Kid. Angel car 
should be White Angel. We simply 
based them on racing cars, but not 
specific ones. 


MAXIMUM Your inclusion of the origi- 
nal course is good. Can you access it 
in one-player mode? 

RRR Team No 


MAXIMUM Why did you decide to 
make the original course only available 
in two-player mode, and are there any 
specific secrets in this mode? 

RRR Team As we said before, this 
game isn't a conversion of our coin-op, 
Ridge Racer 2, so we had no plan to 
include this specification at first 
However, we would like to present this 
specification to the people who play 


this game in link-up mode, because 
they have to arrange two RRR games 
two PlayStations, televisions and a link- 
up cable. 


MAXIMUM Are there any game secrets 
that we haven't found yet? 

RRR Team We can say that there are 
some, but we can't say what. 


MAXIMUM Thank you very much for 
your time. Does any of your team have 
any final comments? 

Mr Akira Nakayama (Senior 
Programmer) As | said before, we had 
a hard time with the high-speed pro- 
cessing and the link-up. Right to the 
end, this was tough for us, but | was 
confident with what | could do. 

Mr Hiroyuki Onoda (Designer) This 
time we made an original course which 
was a challenge. 

Mr Shiro Wada (Graphics) This time 
we wanted to make not just a racing 
game, but an entertaining one where 
the player has time to see the excellent 
background. So this is something we 
gave thought to, 

Mr Kazumi Mizuno (Director) I'm not 
from Sony, but | like the link mode, so 
people should buy two machines and 
two games. It was not a marketing 
decision, but we felt that the level of 
graphics would go down with a split 
screen and we didn't want to compro: 
mise the quality, The other reason is 
that the link-up mode is technically 
more difficult than the split-screen, so 
we wanted to meet the challenge of 
this difficult feature. 


MAXIMUM Thank you 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE * MAXIMUM 121 


MAXIMUM NEWS 


The first true next generation role playing adventure for the Sony PlayStation is gaining two new addi- 
tions, as gamers across the globe galvanise themselves for a veritable King’s Field onslaught. 


Firstly, MAXIMUM 1s pleased to announce that King’s Field 2 is receiving an English translation followed by an 
American release, so that RPG fanatics across the States can get to grips with the classic and involving gameplay 
without the initial confusion of bewildering Japanese text. With a US release scheduled by the end of March by Ascii, 
MAXIMUM is certain that Sony will snap this one up for a British release like lightning - they certainly should consid- 
ering the serious lack of PlayStation RPGs. It would be a real and utter waste if this title failed to materialise on these 


shores. Are you listening, Sony? 


Although lacking some of the graphical finesse of other polygon-based titles, King’s Field more than makes up for 
this with an involving plot and a huge game life. The magical attacks that your character is endowed with are some 
of the most spectacular, and the more powerful entities encountered in the final battle are amongst the most impres- 


More exciting still is the late-breaking news relating to the development of King’s 
Field 3 in Japan, Details are scarce, and the screenshots are taken from a 30 per- 
cent complete version of the game, but what we are able to tell you is the the 
adventure follows on from the second story (as one might expect), and the graph- 
ical locations have been improved over the first two games. There is a variety of 
new non-player characters and monsters to encounter (including the stout mace- 
wielding dwarf), a number of new and impressive-looking weapons and armour 
and devastating magic, but the main graphical difference lies in the new outdoor 
locations. As you can see, the developers From Software have actually included 
fields in King's Field this time, along with huts and a plethora of outhouses and 
cavern systems to investigate. All this helps to create the finest-looking King's 
Field quest seen so far, and Japanese gamers are sure to lap up the finished ver- 
sion when it arrives at some stage during 1996. MAXIMUM will be following the 
progress of this fine-looking role-playing game in the next issue. 


122 MAXIMUM * THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


sive we've seen. The time is most definitely right for an adventure to Melanat island 
for a spot of questing 

King’s Field 2 received the MAXIMUM Extended Play treatment last issue, and 
this proved to be extremely popular judging by the number of queries we received 
from owners of the Japanese version regarding the many fiendish locations and 
magical items. Having played the English language version of the game, we can 
safely say that this is an outstanding graphical adventure that should definitely 
appeal to role playing fans. Be prepared to invest sizable quantities of your social 
life into forging ahead with the mammoth quest to locate the fabled moonlight 
sword, Forget Arc the Lad; this is what role-playing should be all about! 


COUIPHEMT 


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MAXIMUM REQUIRES STAFF 


MAXIMUM is a monthly video games magazine aimed at the die-hard player own- 
ing the next generation of games technology. Staff are required for this title who 
have a genuine interest and in-depth knowledge about video games. If that isn’t 
you, please don't apply. The following positions are available: 


DESIGNERS 

If you're a Macintosh literate designer with experience of Quark Xpress, Adobe 
Photoshop and Aldus Freehand, we could well be interested in employing the use 
of your artistic talents. 

‘As well as accomplished Mac skills, the successful candidate will also have a gen- 
uine interest and enthusiasm for video games and won't be afraid of making 
demands from the writing staff - for the good of the magazine. Therefore, the 
successful applicant will also need excellent communication skills. It’s a diffi- 
cult, demanding position, but for someone who is really into video games it 
could be the perfect opportunity to mix your favourite hobby with a worthwhile 
career in publishing. 


DEPUTY EDITOR 

MAXIMUM aims to recruit a Deputy Editor to help produce the most in-depth 
video games magazine on the market. The successful candidate has a near ency- 
clopaedic knowledge of video games, along with some basic knowledge of Quark 
Xpress. A few years’ experience of journalism in the video games industry would 
be extremely useful, although not totally essential. Other requirements are a 
sound grasp of the English language and pronounced sub-editing and production 
skills. Examples of your work should be enclosed with your CV. 


Send all applications to Gary Harrod, MAXIMUM, Priory Court, 30-32 Farringdon 
Lane, London EC1R 3AU at your earliest convenience. 


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3DO % Playstation = PC» Saturn + Amiga 
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Gunstar Heroes. Alien Soldier. Dynamite Headdy. These games are 
incredibly good Sega Megadrive titles all created by one talented 
Japanese software house - Treasure. With the 16-bit machine well 
behind them, Treasure have moved onto the Saturn in real style with 
their debut title: Guardian Heroes. MAXIMUM reports. 


Take 4 look at Treasure’s back catalogue 
and you can see an array of technically 
superlative games. The company were able 
to take 16-bit hardware to its very limits with 
some of the most stunningly huge bosses 
ever seen. The mid-level action on all of the 
games was also superlative, with huge 
amounts of sprites inhabiting the screen. 
Now, the Saturn's sprite and backdrop han- 
dling capabilities are so advanced, that just 
about any one can match what Treasure were 
up to with their previous games. It's a good thing therefore that the 
company's expert gameplay prowess once again comes to the 
fore with Guardian Heroes. 

The basic premise of the game is as follows. One or two players 
undertake a vast adventure based around a series of horizontally 
scrolling levels. A substantial amount of depth is given to each 
level through the use of various playfields which lead further back 
“into” the screen. Using the shoulder buttons on the joypad 
enables you to jump between the different layers. As you might 
imagine, there is a large amount of sprite-scaling involved - some- 
thing that the Saturn can handle with consummate ease. The back. 
drops are all scaled, as is each and every sprite on-screen. This 
gives rise to a very original look and feel to the game. 

Four characters are there for the controlling - each with excellent 
names such as Hahn Samuel, Randy M Green, Ibushi Giniro and 
Nicola Neil. Each fighter has their own range of moves along with 
their own personal characteristics. For example, Nicola is a bit 


124 MAXIMUM »* THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


MAXIMUM NEWS | 


weak on the physical side but has immense magical pow- 
ers whereas burly Hahn is the exact opposite, with a huge 
range of attacks but only one puny magical spell at his 
disposal. Other characters derive magic from artifacts car- 
ried - for example, Randy's psychic quotient is upped sig- 
nificantly thanks to his mystical staff. What this all boils 
down to is that Guardian Heroes offers mucho variety in 
its gameplay - the characters are truly unique. There's no 
Ryu and Ken-style similarity between any of the heroes - 
each one is significantly different to warrant specific play- 
ing styles. 

The majority of the action is combat based, in a style rem- 
iniscent, but far in advance of Sega's aged Golden Axe 
coin-op. Each of the characters is decked out with a wide range of special attacks - full 
moves lists will follow in the Guardian Heroes Extended Play that’s currently scheduled 
for MAXIMUM issue #4 - suffice to say that these guys have more special moves and 
techniques than the average Street Fighter or X-Man, Adding to the replay factor is that 
decisions can be made at the end of some levels - for example, you may decide to con- 

tinue on the same route or pursue the end-of-level boss which just got away. 
Combine this excellent combat action with an in-depth RPG storyline and we think 
you'll agree that Guardian Heroes is shaping up to be one of the premiere Saturn releas- 

HORT STORIE es of 1996. 

Uh Wb The Japanese version of the game is scheduled to hit importers at the end of the 
d ab January, but it must be said that there is a fair amount of Japanese text to wade through 
use most 0 c p which may put some people off (the game remains playable although you won't have 
nust b Q much of a clue about the storyline), MAXIMUM can 
only compatib reveal that the game has been well-received at Sega| 
rather crap Ho Han Europe HQ and an official version complete with all-' 
good nahn English text is well in development as we speak and 
H should be out in March or April. Combined with! 
Panzer Dragoon 2, Guardian Heroes is bound to 
cellent Versus Mode exists in raise the Saturn's profile still further in early 1996 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE » MAXIMUM 125 


Work continues apace on what looks to be the finest 3D polygon adventure title yet seen 
on any platform; Resident Evil (known as Biohazard in Japan). Following our in-depth 
news coverage in issue two, MAXIMUM has obtained a 60 percent complete version of 
the game and has visited Capcom's Japanese headquarters to interview those involved 
in the project. This most recent version of Resident Evil is much more advanced than the 
previous sampler we played, and includes a wealth of new details that add a new dimen- 


sion to this terrifying game. 


The reason tor your team’s exploration has been 
fleshed out and explained in an all-new (and extremely 
cheesy) full-motion video featuring a quartet of B-movie 
stars. The action is set in July 1998, and your group of 
STAR combat veterans from the ‘Raccoon Police 
Department’ (known as Alpha team) have taken to the 
skies to search for the ‘Star’ Bravo team who in turn were 
sent to investigate a series of bizarre murders 

Flying over the remote Raccoon Forest, you spot a 
plume of smoke, and land to investigate. After a brief 
search of the area, you find the Bravo team's downed helicopter with an entire 
supply of ammunition still intact. Weirder still are the snarling noises from the sur. 
rounding hillside. You decide to search the tall grass for any other clues, and your 
newest recruit finds a pistol stuck in the mud with a hand attached to it! He pulls 
the gun from the mire and lets out a scream of terror when the hand comes away 
at the wrist. Then in a blur of claws and fangs, a large wolf-like beast leaps onto 
the rookie, who shrieks and lets off a number of shotgun blasts. The beast shrugs 


iE 


126 MAXIMUM - 


these off and rents him apart, with blood and gore spilling everywhere 

Running to investigate the noise, your team of three arrive to find the rookie’s 
twitching corpse, but there is no time to moum - the helicopter has flown off and 
there are more beasts waiting to pounce. You decide to sprint into the darkness 
with the creatures in hot pursuit, and the situation is beginning to look hopeless: 
until you spot a dark mansion appearing from the gloom. You run into the hallway 
and lock the door behind you. Perhaps this mansion holds the key...? 


UNCOVER THE DEADLY SECRETS LYING WITHIN THE MANSION 

A lot has changed since MAXIMUM played through the sample demo. Firstly, the 
interaction is a lot more comprehensive; there are now numerous items to pick up 
including keys, health (in the form of spray cans) and of course, guns. The guns 
now have limited ammunition; an addition we found out to our cost, whilst the keys 
only open doors of a similar colour. 

We also found many places in the now-complete mansion that could not be 
accessed, and a huge number of different sections had been added; including a 
cave system, a guardhouse, a helipad and a hideous mutation chamber! Other 
new additions include a set-piece animation the first time you bump into a feast 
mbie and venture outside the mansion, and a cunning number of set piece 
puzzles to solve, such as playing the piano, and obtaining the shotgun without 
being pulped, Various sections of the mansion have been swapped around, so 
that rooms lead to unexpected areas, and some of the mansion’s many beasties 
have been transferred to other areas, meaning that our creep through a hallway 
(in order to ambush the giant spider) turned into a run for cover when a couple of 
zombie Dobermans crashed through the windows instead 

Character wise, the game has been tweaked so that it plays somewhat differ 
ently depending on which operative you choose. The female ‘Star’ member Jill 
Valentine has more to offer than Chris Redfield as she can carry eight items 
pared to Chris's six), and unlocks a variety of doors due to her expert lock-picking 
abilities. Chris, meanwhile, can uncover a barricaded ‘Star’ member from the 
Bravo team; the nymph-like Rebecca Chambers, Both the characters seem (at this 


ing z 


| MAXIMUM NEWS 


Creep through the dank darkness in a quest to locate imprisoned STAR members! 


stage in development) to be able to enter unique sections of the gaming area, and 
both are interesting to play. Other minor enhancements include a pondering 
stance when you leave the game unpaused, and larger numbers of in-game chats 
with team coordinator Barry Burton (leading from one exploration to another) 
Finally the characters have now been given the ability to push large items of fur- 
niture around the room to reveal secret hiding places. 


AN ADVANCED GUIDE TO MANSION MONSTERS 

if you thought that the many foul fiends found in the preliminary version were grue- 
some enough, prepare for terror beyond measure as we present some of the more 
powerful beasts that Resident Evil has to offer. 


1. Zombie Doberman - These are first encountered in the introduction when they 
rip apart the hapless rookie team member, and also prowl and scamper through- 
out the mansion, They are extremely fast, but 
easily avoided as they turn in a very wide arc. 
We met three of them on an outside balcony 
where they couldn't be dodged, and were 
ripped to shreds; a swift demise that ended 
with one of the hounds grabbing our character 
and shaking him by the throat until his neck 
cracked. Bringing a pistol to bear results in dog 
death after about seven bullets, and they yelp 
pitifully as they take each bullet. The movement 
here is just excellent; as the dogs snap back- 
wards, whimpering and twitching on the 
ground with great realism. 


2. Giant Snake - The real star of the first version 
of Resident Evil makes another slithering 
appearance in a different part of the tumbling 
mansion, Upon entering a dimly-lit storage 
room, we were slightly disturbed at a low hiss 
ing sound, and this fear changed to blind panic 
when the huge purple giant serpent rose up 
from behind some boxes, We tried in vain to collect an item from the room, and 
then foolishly engaged the beast in hand-to-hand combat; a phenomenal mistake 
as it resulted in our character being eaten (except for the legs which were bitten 
off), Despite our demise, we were still overwhelmed by the quality of the animation 
(and crunching sounds of our death), but this is just a taster of what was to come. 


ALERT! ALERT: 


MAGAZINE * MAXIMUM 127 


| MAXIMUM NEWS | 


Small Snakes - In the dank dark mouldy cave 
chambers in a newly-discovered area, we acci- 
dentally trod on a small slithering black snake. 
Usually in these type of games, small animat- 
ed snakes are just an eye-catching part of the 
scenery; but not so in Resident Evil as our 
hero received a hefty chomp to the boot. 


3. Plant Tendrils - We stumbled upon some 
twitching shrubbery planted around a fountain 
in an upstairs balcony, It didn't take long for us to discover that these tendrils were 
alive, as we received a (quite enjoyable) whipping from the branches. After some 
cunning lateral thinking, we poisoned the plant, and connected the key it was 
guarding, before continuing with our expedition. 


4. Mammoth Spider - As mentioned previously, a whole new series of outhouses 
have been programmed into this version of Resident Evil, and these areas proved 
to contain the most frightening monsters of all. After an exploration into a cave system full of Mutant Lizardmen, we headed 
for a metal door to escape their slimy claws, and quickly dived inside. Instead of a quiet hidey-hole stocked full ammunition, 
we Sat in open-mouthed astonishment as the biggest spider ever seen in a video game scuttled into view. As you can tell from 


Giant spiders that will suck your brains out through your ears! 


the screenshots, this beast of an arachnid filled the whole screen 
and moved with the grace and speed you would expect from this. 
game. Unsure of our actions, we faced the purple monstrosity in a 
Mexican stand-off until we recovered from our initial shock, and 
loaded up the shotgun. Blowing the legs off huge spiders is 
immensely satisfying, and we followed this by unloading slug after 
slug into the massive prone body, which burst and split apart, 
showering us with white baby spiders that were destroyed in 
another frenzy of stomping. 


5. Hornets - in exploring the new guardhouse complex, we interrupted a spot of hive building by 
some particularly stressed hornets. These killer insects took offence to our accidental blundering and 
swarmed about, stinging ferociously until we ran off, unsure of how to kill them. 


6. Plant Monstrosity - The guardhouse has more that its fair share of terrifying secrets, and the 
biggest of the lot was a gigantic thrashing Cthuloid monstrosity with a giant throbbing head! Holding 
a captured ‘Star’ member in a hypnotic trance, it periodically swung great tentacles about, knocking 
our character from one end of the room to the other. Taking shelter in the far corners of the room our 
plucky adventurer made a deci 
sion to empty every weapon we had into the gross defor 
mity. A dozen shotgun blasts and two full clips from the 
automatic had managed to blow several of the swinging 
tentacles clean off but the creature was still alive! Wonder 
what would happen if all the tentacles were to be 
destroyed. ..? Out of ammo and declining a long and con: 
stricting death, the MAXIMUM team decided to explore 
the secret laboratory itself 


6b 


128 MAXIMUM + THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


MAXIMUM NEWS | 


Experimental Mutations - Resident Evil's most horrific creations were met at the end of our exploration, gq 
and these were the various mutations roaming about the derelict laboratory. Three types of hideous 
humanoids were present; small leaping beastlings, a large black bio-humanoid, and a large white bio- 
humanoid 


7. Leaping Beastlings - A narrow and steel-plated corridor contained a number of grey haunched crea- 
tures that leapt to their feet and lolloped towards us with glee. These are fast but easy to dodge, and pack 
a hefty punch if your character is too slow. Blast them both with the shotgun and the shambling muties 
spring onto the ceiling! Aim upwards and shoot them back down to earth or run, the choice is yours! 


8. Black Bio-humanoid - A stroll on the laboratory heli-pad turned into a sprint for survival as we disturbed 
a seven foot tall black mutation. Moving like lightning, he darted towards us with large talons outstretched, 
and caught us with a sharp stab to the midriff. This was our cue to run like crazy for the doorway, and leave 
the gaunt killing machine swiping at air 


9. White Bio-humanoid - Located in the central mutation chamber was a towering white figure that strode 
towards our ‘Star’ member with a purpose - to skewer us with his long pointed talons! Impervious to the 
heaviest of gunfire, this chap shrugged off ten (!) shotgun blasts and still kept on coming. We ran out of 
shotgun shells, and switched to the trusty pistol, planting 15 bullets into him. With still no effect, we showed no fear and pulled 
out a knife, stabbing ineffectually at the huge foe. The white terror retaliated with a dramatic talon thrust that passed though 
our pathetic defences and into our character's chest. Disgraceful death-spasms ensued as the bio-humanoid lifted up our 
spluttering character and tore him apart in a death scene too gruesome to describe. 


BI0-HUMANOID MELTDOWN! 


RESIDENT EVIL - CAPCOM’S FINEST HOUR? 

This is shaping up to be the most awesome 3D polygon adven- 
ture title of 1996, and with the added depth of items, traps, puz- 
zles and wide variety of monsters, the gameplay is set to match 
the outstanding visuals. The scene is set for Capcom to retake 
the mantle as one of the world’s premiere software houses after 
a number of mediocre titles, as they begin to take control of the 
extra power afforded by the 32-bit systems. 

Aside from the gruesome entities contained in the mansion 
and the surrounding grounds, the actual rooms offer their own 
share of surprises. In one, for example, you must shift three 
stone statues in order to unlock a secret chest, whilst another 
puzzling chamber has your character collecting a gem from a 
very secret place. 

This potential that the PlayStation offers can already be seen 
in Capcom's recently-released Street Fighter Zero. Japanese 
gamers have the option to view an outstanding rolling demo of 
Resident Evil as a bonus, and this features a taste of the goth- 
ic horror that MAXIMUM has lavished upon you in these pages. The excellent video footage also shows some brand new 
weaponry (such as a marvellous flamethrower) and some fine close-up shots of Jill wading through some radioactive sewage. 

The only potential spanner in the works is the age-old problem of blood and guts. As MAXIMUM understands it, Sony of 
Japan is taking a tough line regarding the amount of exploding red stuff in Resident Evil; asking the programmers to tone 
down various elements of the game and to make the blood a “grey” colour. This stance is at odds with Sony of America’s ‘no 
holds barred’ approach, and has so far resulted in green blood for the zombies, but little other major changes. 


CHAMBERS OF PUZZLEMENT 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE * MAXIMUM 129 


MAXIMUM NEWS | 


In order to gain the most extensive and each country has a few famous 
coverage possible, MAXIMUM visited ones. But in Japan, unlike other coun- 
Capcom's Japanese headquarters in tries, we don't have stories with reli- 
Tokyo and spoke to Tatsuya Minami; gious intent. In Japan, religion doesn't 
the Senior Manager of the Product play a large part in daily life so much, 
Planning Section involved in the pro- so the concept of the Devil and so on 
gramming of Resident Evil. Our in- — is not really evident in Japan, whereas 
depth interview revealed some of the in Europe there are many stories 
inspirations of the programmers, — based on this type of theme. 
secrets of the game, and plans for the 
finished version, as well as an interest- MAXIMUM How did you create the 
ing surprise or two. mansion in the game? Was it difficult 
and did you use an architect at all? 
MAXIMUM What is the origin of Mr Minami No, not at all. We collected 
Resident Evil? an enormous amount of background 
Mr Minami This goes back about five material which we studied; including 
years. There was a game called — books on design and construction 
“Sweet Ghost” in which we had want- 
ed to create a kind of mansion of hor- MAXIMUM So the layout of the man 
ror; a haunted house. sion was available before you started? 
Mr Minami Yes, we talked about how 
MAXIMUM How popular is real horror we wanted the house to be. The plan- 
in Japan? ner had an image of the house onto 
Mr Minami Many people have a hid- which we firstly mapped out a plan 


The second CAPCOM R&D INTERVIEW 
MAXIMUM discovers the intent behind the evil! 


den propensity for it, though this view of the rooms, Then we positioned 
should not be expressed openly partitions and decided on the layout of 
because there are moral factors. the rooms before finally deciding on 
the kind of walls and doors that we 
MAXIMUM Let's talk about the back- wanted. We had to redo it many times. 
ground to Resident Evil. We said in our 
news feature that it was some secret MAXIMUM Was the mapping the most 
experiment which caused the muta- complicated part of the game, or was it 
tions of the animals and created the the character construction? 
zombies. Is that correct? If so, what is Mr Minami Both tasks were difficult 
the final aim of the game once you The mapping was difficult because we 
have rescued the characters, and what _ had to be careful not to make any loop- 
inspired you to create this title? holes or contradictions to the storyline. 
Mr Minami It is correct. The aim is to Therefore we had to redo it many 
get out of the mansion. To create the times. As for the characters, it was the 
feeling of horror we needed to have a__first time we made 3D characters, and 
solid background, so we chose a we had problems with texturing. 
European-style house, Personally 
speaking, I've been to America and MAXIMUM Regarding the weapons in 
England many times, where | visited the game, in the sample version that 
stately homes in the country, and actu- we played, we start off with the knife 
ally felt quite frightened! Our other — and the automatic, and we've collected 
inspirations came from ghost stories. the revolver and a shotgun. Are there 
They are part of a country’s culture, other weapons that can be found dur- 


“The game is basically an action one, but we wanted to put in demonstrations, with very different 
stories developing from them. We had the idea of making them like films.” 


130 MAXIMUM » THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


ing the game? 

Mr Minami Yes, there are, but we 
haven't finally decided on them yet. We 
have many ideas and are working on 
them, but we have to consider the bal- 
ance of the game as well (with regards 
to more powerful weaponry). 


MAXIMUM Are you tempted at all to 
place a machine-gun in the game? 

Mr Minami There may be one hidden 
there somewhere! 


MAXIMUM It would be nice if you fin: 
ished the game and had the option of 
restarting again but with more powerful 
weaponry than was capable before 
What do you think? 

Mr Minami This is a good idea. We'll 
consider it! 


MAXIMUM How difficult would it be to 
have two people (via a link-up cable) 
walking around the mansion? 

Mr Minami This is a very good idea, 
but this is our first time in making 3D 
characters, and we tried to make them 
complement the story. 


MAXIMUM How different are the story- 
lines between the two characters? 

Mr Minami The story changes quite 
considerably. 


MAXIMUM Do you encounter anything 
in the game that is unique to a particu- 
lar character? 

Mr Minami The game is basically an 
action one, but we wanted to put in 
demonstrations [character discus- 
sions], with very different stories devel- 
oping from them. We had the idea of 
making them like films. 


MAXIMUM On the new CD that you 
showed us (the 60% complete version 
of the game), when you first encounter 


a zombie, there is a detailed sequence 
of the zombie turning round, This was 
excellent. How many more of those 
sequences do you hope to see in the 
completed game? 

Mr Minami There will be more of those 
- lots more with different CG. The white 
zombie turning round has rather eerie. 
looking eyes. 


MAXIMUM We asked you how tong 
the game was. Is it possible to finish it 
very quickly? 

Mr Minami This depends on many 
things. The mansion is quite big, so 
time is wasted when you get lost in it, 
and while coming and going you meet 
enemies, which also takes up a lot of 
time. If you can go straight through it, | 
don't think it would take that much 
time. But we hope the player will spend 
time appreciating each room. It has not 
been completed yet so | can't say what 
the quickest time would be, but in nor- 
mal circumstances, about three days. 


MAXIMUM What elements other than 
the two selectable characters will you 
include so that you can replay the 
game? 

Mr Minami Well, depending on the 
combination of characters, there is a 
variety of stories which have different 
endings which we hope those who buy 
the game will wish to see 


MAXIMUM From what we've seen of 
the game, there are two or three char 
acters on the screen at most. Would it 
be possible for example to put one 
player against ten zombies? 

Mr Minami We don't have ten at the 
moment. The main point is the com: 
pletion of the game, and what action 
the PlayStation can handle. 


MAXIMUM Would it be possible with 


MAXIMUM NEWS | 


the PlayStation? 
Mr Minami It depends on how the 
game is made, but | feel it would not 
really be possible 


MAXIMUM It would be good to have a 
difficulty setting where you could have 
the option to attack a lot of creatures at 
once. From the player's point of view, it 
would be nice to see how far he could 
get before he gets slaughtered. 

Mr Minami At present, these settings 
are not included 


MAXIMUM Capcom games, particular- 
ly the coin-ops and conversions, are 
famous for their ‘secrets’. Will there be 
any real secrets (for example, a dead 
Street Fighter wandering around the 
mansion)? 

Mr Minami We wanted to put them in, 
but it took a long time just to make up 
the game, but if there's scope for them, 


of course we want to put them in. 


MAXIMUM The name has changed 
from Biohazard to Resident Evil. What 
was the reason for that? We know 
there is a Megadrive game called 
Biohazard. Is that the reason it's 
changing for Europe? 

Mr Minami No, that has no connec- 
tion. When choosing titles for games, 
there are certain preferences in Europe 
and America, and it just happened that 
one of the suggestions was Resident 
Evil, which we thought was good to 
use. 


MAXIMUM When are you hoping to 
release the game? 

Mr Minami We'd like to put it out as 
soon as possible, but it will take some 
time. Hopefully, it will be available in 
Japan by spring, so perhaps summer 
for Europe after the conversion. 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE * MAXIMUM 131 


Another two months, and another deluge of software for game-players 
throughout the Land of the Rising Sun to get excited about. Top of the 
heap is Street Fighter Zero; with Capcom finally getting their act togeth- 
er and releasing a first-rate port-over after the tragedy that was Street 
Fighter Real Battle on Film. This and other main releases (such as 
Toshinden 2) have received their own news story; as such titles deserve 
a more detailed examination, whilst the remainder of less well-known 
games are massed together in this regular software round-up. 


Before continuing, itis worth mentioning that four other titles are also avail 
able, but have not been previewed due to a number of reasons. Three of them 
were adorned with so much Japanese text that they were impossible to get to 
grips with properly. These were Dokioki; a weird and wonderful role-playing game 
with beautifully rendered droids, Air Land Battle; a strategic warfare game using 
hex-based combat and Classic Road; a mind-numbing horse racing title. The 
other release was Kileak, the Blood 2; a truly outstanding Doomesque wanderer 
(and a vast improvement on the original) that is receiving a more in-depth overview 
in MAXIMUM issue #4. 

The rest of the import titles are the usual mixed bag; ranging from the dire to the 
excellent, with a wealth of mediocre titles in between. First up is Perfect Golf, a 
sports title for up to four players with a special coaching mode featuring a popu- 
lar Japanese golfing hero! Sadly, there's huge amounts of Japanese text to wade 
through, and when the game itself eventually 
starts the graphics lack any sort of detail; con 
sisting mainly of two-dimensional scenery that 
pixelates horribly. Couple this with a control 
method that is far too simple (you may exact- 
ly time the strength of your shot, for example), 
and you have a golfing simulator that lacks 
any sort of playable and graphical punch. 
Last issue, MAXIMUM was overwhelmed with 
sports titles, and this time it's the turn of shoot- 
em-ups to be released in large quantities, Four 
such games come under the spotlight this time, and top of the heap is In the Hunt 
by Xing Entertainment (Irem). This places you (and a friend) in a steel submarine 
that must fight through a series of underwater levels, with the predictable boss at 
the end of each one. As you can see, the graphics are extremely polished, the 
power-ups are numerous and difficulty level is set just right. However, the action is 
very sluggish throughout and the gameplay takes the ‘old-school’ shoot ‘em up 


approach, with no innovative features whatsoever, A 
well-constructed and visually impressive game, but 
slow-moving and uninspiring 

Next we have Gunbird by Atlus; a translation of their 
coin-op of the same name that features of choice of five 
characters, who travel through numerous levels to com: 
bat the menace of a giant cuddly bear. As you may have 
gathered, this is Manga-based shoot 'em up action that 
has an excellent cartoon introduction (and even a 
gallery of pictures to view), but the game itself is over far 
too quickly, the graphics look decidedly 16-bit, and the 
game must be completely twice before it comes to an 
end. A speedy game with little slow-down, but rather 
mediocre in the game-play department. 

Bottom of the heap is the second-rate Two-Ten Kaku 
by Sony Music Entertainment (Japan). After a moderate 
GG intro and a choice of three robot fighters, you must 
take to the vertically-scrolling skies and dispense justice 
to wave upon wave of similar-shaped craft. Not so much 
uninspiring; more like boring as hell. Even the large 
bosses move with the grace and fluidity of a Megadrive 


132 MAXIMUM - 


MAXIMUM NEWS | 


| 1S HORNED OWL ANY GOOD? 


title, and the needless amounts of CG cut. 
scenes only added to the disappointment 
of the game itself. Avoid at all costs. 

The final shoot 'em up to grace the MAX- 
IMUM collection thankfully takes a different 
stance. Horned Owl appears to be Sony 's 
stab at a Virtua Cop-style game, but with 
futuristic overtones. The game arrived with a dark blue phazer for a more realistic sensation, and for 
a true professional touch, Sony recruited the animation talents of Masamune Shirow (famous for 
such Manga epics as Appleseed and Ghost in the Machine) for the cartoon cut-scenes. 
Unfortunately, Shirow's magic didn't rub off on the actual game action. The route is precaloulated, 
and all you have to do is point and shoot, but where this differs from Virtua Cop is that the enemies 
are very two-dimensional robots with jerky movements that look out of place against the smooth- 
scrolling backgrounds. Pixelation is a problem, but the main factor against this title is that you're fir 
ing at badly animated robots, and not smoothly moving polygon-suited gentlemen. The final prob- 
lem with Horned Owl is the difficulty setting. This is an easy game to complete, as the gun (although 
less weighty than Sega's effort) is easy to operate, but unlike Virtua Cop, there's really little to inspire 
you to complete it again, Sony could have spent so much more time over this to produce a rivalto _—_— PUSH! START 
Virtua Cop, but have instead created a real dutter. ae 


Does Horned Owl compare favourably with Virtua Cop? Er, no. 


PUSH START 


Ot, £ 4 } Moving onto other software genres, Atlus decided to spring another title 
0 al } Bs Lemme eon us; a 2D beat ‘em up known as Gouketuji-Ichizoku 2. Starring a cast of 
fourteen contestants, this has all the appeal of a third-party Neo Geo fight- 
ing game, and plays appallingly. The action is slow, character animations 
are sometimes loaded in during the fights themselves, and the characters 
lack any sort of charisma, We have humourous old ladies, nubile young 
girls and even a Dhalsim look-alike, but the all-important gameplay is lack- 
ing. This is least entertaining PlayStation beat 'em up that MAXIMUM has 
seen since Twin Goddesses 

The world of mediocre software gains another initiate; this time the dubi- 
ous award goes to Reverthion by Tecno Soft. Best described as Cybersled 
with monsters, this initially impressed us with excellent texture-mapped 
beasties roaming around attractive arenas. Of course, it was when the 
game started that the problems arose. Apart from being unbelievably 
straightforward (to such an extent that we completed it without continuing 
(on our first attempt), we found the fighting area too small, and the mon- 
sters lacked a variety of attacks. Despite the fancy visuals and the nice 
f | idea, this was yet another failed attempt, but certainly had more to offer than Cybersled. 

Then, just as all hopes faded of some decent software, along came two highly different titles that 
took us by surprise. Creators of the excellent Aquanaut's Holiday, Artdink, have followed up with 
Carnage Heart; a highly absorbing futuristic strategy that oozes playability, Despite the large 
So Assault Figs amount of Japanese text, we enjoyed this immensely. The main gaming objectives seem to be the 

i nie Waenes | retaking of enemy bases across different parts of the earth. With this in mind, we rearmed a squad 
of battle mechs and sent them to capture a base held by enemy tanks. Once within range, the 
action switches to a 3D computer-controlled battle arena and the action is watched through a mul- 
titude of camera angles. Quantities of Japanese text made this difficult to play, but hopefully an 
enterprising UK developer will snap this one up, as it looks to be an involving strategy simulation 
with 32-bit visuals. 

Our last import title was Genso Suikoden; a Role Playing game by Konami. The obvious text 
problems were apparent, but with perseverance we managed an hour or two of blissful wanderings 
over beautifully detailed landscapes, fighting a 
multitude of entities in a Final Fantasy manner. 
The added excitement of over thirty different 
monster types, and eighty types of items makes 
this all the more in-depth, but the main excite- 
ment gained from this is possibility of a final 
confrontation involving up to 108 different char- 
acters! This looks from our initial play to be all 
that Arc the Lad should have been, and we look 
forward to an official UK release as soon as pos- 
sible, especially as the PlayStation has no offi- 
cial RPGs at all 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE + MAXIMUM 133 


During the months of November and December, the import market for 
Saturn software reached a fever-pitch. Not only was it the traditional 
Christmas buying season, but it was also heralded by the arrival of the 
Saturn's greatest software to date. However, if you don't like X-Men, 
Rally, Cop or VF2 you're in for a bit of a disappointment, because the rest 
of the releases are pretty rubbish. 


Sega’s “Big Three" games had the anticipated effect on the import market - a 
radical swing in the gaming habits of the hardcore players showed that Sega were 
recapturing ground in the battle against Sony. Importers have told MAXIMUM that 
all of the interest is now in Sega's machine, with only Doom and Ridge Racer 
Revolution providing any sort of competition for the likes of Virtua Cop and Sega 
Rally. As well as Sega's games, Capcom also accounted for a great deal of trade 
with the unforgettable X-Men: Children of the Atom (see page 64 for part two of our 
Extended Play coverage) 

When X-Men was released on November 22, stocks were initially limited to the 
wholesalers that supply some of our trusty importers, resulting in a severe dearth 
of CDs in London's West End shops (which MAXIMUM regularly visits when com- 
piling our import reports). This resulted in some shops having no X-Men at all, 
whilst some of those who did charged exorbitant prices. Did we hear £120 being 


demanded for a copy of X-Men in one particular establishment? Untortunately, we did, taking us back to the days when importers used 
to charge up to a ton for a piece of hot software (a lot of you probably wouldn't have heard of the tale where one particular shop auc- 
tioned off their last copy of the then-super hot Super NES version of Street Fighter Il... for £135!), Thankfully, stocks of the Sega “Big 
Three" games were easily forthcoming resulting in slightly more realistic prices, The moral of this story? Shop around and be prepared 
to wait just a few days and save huge amounts of pounds. After just one frenzied weekend of X-sales, we were able to locate a copy 
for a relatively affordable sixty quid 

With their arcade reputation sinking faster than Robert Maxwell, Taito have decided to unleash some of their aged arcade “hits” on 
the Saturn, with two new releases arriving in the MAXIMUM offices during mid-December. So, which classic titles have been deemed 
smart enough to be converted onto Saturn? A Bubble Bobble/Rainbow Islands double pack, perhaps? Er, no, Try Darius and the ludi- 
crous Hatrick Heroes. 

The latter must rank as one of the most feeble football simulations ever to PLAYER? 00003430; PRESS’ START 

appear since ZX Spectrum World Cup Carnival, and was literally met with howls of 
derision from the assembled EMAP hacks. With Victory Goal suddenly looking for 
all the world like the height of gaming sophistication, Hatrick Heroes was quickly 
dispatched to the furthest reaches of the games cupboard 

Darius though, was an almost completely different story. The arrival of Pulstar on 
Neo Geo was enough to rekindle our interest in sideways scrolling blasters and 
Darius delighted us with a range of utterly excellent bosses. True, the actual mid- 
level action wasn’t that far removed from the original out-dated coin-op, but it must 
be said that Darius did offer some small amount of amusement. If you can pick it 
up cheap, it’s worth a look. 


z2A TOgsTART 


ane’ 


GETS OFFICIAL REL 


134 MAXIMUM + THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


MAXIMUM NEWS 


PUZZLING ACTION 


The resurgence of popularity in the racing genre (no doubt inspired by the . > te 
appearance of a certain AM3 conversion) probably accounted for the arrival of two POSITION TIME 


new Saturn road racers, The bizarrely monikered King The Spirits and JVC's Dead 7 10/10 10 
Heat vie for attention in a Japanese market that's holding its breath for the 
December 29 release of Sega Rally. Both titles are utter tripe. yl 
JVC's number, Dead Heat, is trying so hard to be Ridge Racer, it hurts. And pain 
(ots of it) is what you should expect for handing over good money for this abom- 
ination, The graphics are bare and repetitive and the car's handling is like a bizarre 
cross between Ridge Racer and Daytona USA. Also included are a bunch of sup- 
posedly good-looking Japanese women to drive around, depicted with the won- 
ders of full-motion video. When gratuitous lingering shots on various parts of 
female anatomy are the highpoints of a video game, you know you're in trouble. 
The current rage for Sega Saturn puzzle titles continues unabated in the Land 
of the Rising Sun. After the twin wonders that are Puyo Puyo and AM3's Baku 
Baku Animal, comes a totally unpronounceable Japanese title from Data East. 
Again, it's more Tetris-inspired action, but with a significant twist - you still need to 
line up same-coloured blocks, but this time you can vacuum up blocks and then 
spit them out wherever you want. Although the gameplay hardly offers anything 
new or innovative, the game offers a fair amount of entertainment. Make no mis- 
take: Baku Baku Animal still rules the roost as far as next generation puzzle games 
go - and MAXIMUM has learned that an official release is looming 


YET MORE CG 


| : : 4 
The latest VIRTUA FIGHTER graphics discs! 


The unquenchable thirst for all things Virtua Fighter continues in Japan, where four more CG 
Saturn discs are now available for sale to complement the Sarah and Jacky discs revealed in 
MAXIMUM issue #2 

Each disc features one song from the Yu Suzuki-commissioned audio CD “Dancing Shadow" 
along with myriad CG images of your favourite polygon fighter. Akira, Pai, Lau and Wolf discs are 
now available in Japan, each providing a small amount of pleasure as you appreciate the vari- 
ous hi-res CG images (which are all excellent, bar Lau's which are a tad dodgy) 

Curiously enough, the MAXIMUM offices have received a number of calls about these CG 
discs and where to get them. Unfortunately, it appears that no importers stock them at all (obvi- 
ously there isn’t much of a market for dodgy Japanese 
pop and accompanying still-screen images). However, 
once we have the complete set of these VF master- 
pieces, expect to see a MAXIMUM competition where 
welll give away the lot. We might even chuck in the lim- 
ited edition Gold Collection that started off this entire 
CG madness... 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE * MAXIMUM 135 


uur dungeon 


Players take on the role of the Dungeon Master and are charged with build 
ing, running and staffing their domain. Soon enough, shiny white knights will 


invade the sanctity of tr 


astle, and players can either set their evil minions 
to attack, or 
fle themselves. 


88 the body of one of the creatures to take part in the scuf. 


There is a lot of strategy involved - pay the goblins too little and they rebel 
and need torturing to get back on side, or let an adventurer escape and he 
broadcasts the secrets of the dungeons to all and sundry (who will natural 
ly want a piece of the action) 


An incredible amour 


nt of detail has gone into the graphics, with true light 
sourcing and some pretty spooky nooks and crannies to explore. Topped off 
with some cool sound effects and an awesome intro sequence, this really 


ks like it's going to be something to write home about. 


136 MAXIMUM + 


Bullfrog are not to be considered as pond life by any means, as their 
awesome line-up of future releases proves. After the runaway success of 
Magic Carpet and Theme Park on the PC, their development teams have 
really put the old grey matter to work and come up with some original 
concepts and slick conversions. MAXIMUM was treated to a sneak pre- 
view of the work in progress that left us hungry for more... 


Since the mid-eighties, the genre of fantasy role playing games has sutfered 
a dearth of inspired conceptual ideas, leaving its many devoted followers feeling 
somehow unfulfilled. In fact this has been the case for many styles of game, and 
programmers have had to rely on impress 
keep their products looking fresh and original 

Talk to the programming teams at Bullfrog, and you'll discover they are quite 


ve graphics and high speed action to 


passionate about the lack of innovations in computer games in recent years 
especially in the field of RPGs. They believe they may have found the answer to 
this problem with Dungeon Keeper... a game that turns the tired old genre of the 
fantasy role 

So... how i 


ying games on its head. 
it different? Well in lots of ways actually. For starters, this is not just 
a first person perspective RPG. It combines the best elements of gameplay from 
several genres: isometric 3D strategy, first person RPG and top down shoot-em: 
up. Sort of a cross between Command & Conquer, Doom, Loaded and Theme 
Park. But the thing that appeals to us more than anything is that instead of play- 
ing the whiter than white boy scout adventurer... you finally get to be the bad guy! 


SYNDICATE WARS 
Another eagerly awaited Bullfrog release is Syndicate Wars - the follow on from 
Syndicate on the PC. For those of you who are not familiar with the original Syndicate 
(where have you been?) it is a highly acclaimed strategy action game that provided 
plenty of violence from an isometric viewpoint. 

Syndicate closed with the global domination of the world by The Corporation. Now, 
a hundred years later, the chip that controlled the minds of the world's population has 
started to malfunction, and an uprising against the grim suppression they have been 
suffering is in the making 

In Syndicate Wars, players take on one of three roles - an agent for The Corporation, 
an elder in a powerful religious cult or the leather clad leader of a bikers gang. The cho- 


| MAXIMUM NEWS | 


The highly-acclaimed Syndicate Wars break out on PlayStation! 


Destroy everything in sight with a variety of highly powerful weaponry! 


sen group will be set appropriate missions to strengthen 
their position in the fight for overall domination. Supplied 
with up to 24 weapons, including lasers and nuclear hand 
grenades, the scene is set for some fairly serious destruc- 
tion 

The main criticism of the first Syndicate was that the 
characters were a bit small, and because the viewpoint 
was held at a fixed angle, it was possible to walk 
behind bits of scenery and lose sight of yourself. In 
developing Syndicate Wars, Bullfrog have taken on 
board these criticisms, and provided enhanced graph 
ics with full light sourcing which looks awesome. All 
the 30 cities are rotatable by 360 degrees, and once 
enough weaponry has been collected it is possible to 
destroy everything the eye can see (although perhaps 
not terribly productive.) Some cool effects have been 
added to create more atmosphere, and while we were with the programming 
team they proudly announced that they had just perfected a particularly 
impressive random raining effect. 

The missions will also be a little more complicated, and may involve travel 
ling to two or three locations before they are completed, whilst failure to 
achieve part of a mission may result in the brief changing - for instance if the 
scientist you have been sent to kidnap escapes, you may be ordered to hunt 
him down and kill him. The gameplay is being further enhanced by the play 
ers ability to control the lead member of the group directly, and get involved in 
some good old fashioned fisticutts. 

Unfortunately, Syndicate Wars is not being released until March 1996, but 
will be available then on both the PC CD and the PlayStation. It looks like it will 
be a worthy successor to its classic parent, and we are eagerly awaiting the 
chance to get our hands on this for review. We'll bring you a full report at the 
first opportunity. 


360 DEGREE ACTION! | 


EO GAME MAGAZINE * MAXIMUM 137 


MAXIMUM NEWS 


UNDERSEA ACTIVITY 


RB q | INDIVIDUAL DATA 


THEME HOSPITAL 
We have to confess, when it was put to us that life at a hospital was going to get the Theme Park treatment, we were dubi- 
ous to say the least. It's not that we don't believe building and running a medical establishment is challenging, it probably is. 
but we failed to see how any enjoyment could be had from dealing with life-threatening diseases and emptying bedpans. 

Bullfrog offered to put MAXIMUM to rights on this issue, and introduced us to the programming team for Theme Hospital. 
who have some pretty wacky ideas of hospital life. 

Players start off with a choice of four time periods, the Middle Ages, Victorian era, 1970-80s and the future. They can then 
choose the location of their hospital and start to build it. As with Theme Park, the player is in full control of the layout, staffing 
and policies of their hospital - and provisions must be made for research, training and specialist testing equipment, as well 
as providing enough toilets to accommodate the patients. Extensive research was important for a factually correct program, 
and the boys at Bullfrog spent many hours at Frimley Park and Great Ormand Street Hospitals to get the full picture (they 
even took a camcorder into a neck operation - although thankfully this has not been digitised into the game.) 

Once prepared, sim citizens start to arrive in the surgery, and need to be diagnosed and treated. Rather than depress us with 
chemotherapy and kidney transplants, some semi-humourous fictional diseases - such as bloaty head, severe hair growth 
and fashion victim - have been substituted for the real McCoy. 

One of the first things we noticed was the huge improvement in 
the quality of the graphics. There are over 1,000 characters which are 
larger and more detailed than the somewhat symbolistic bods in 
Theme Park. Also, aware of the criticism about the lack of different 
races and sexes in Theme Park, Bullfrog have become politically 
correct, with a selection of cartoon-like punters that cater for a very 
wide range of minority groups. 

The game will be released on PC CD in April 1996, with 32-bit con- 
versions planned in the following months, so if you've ever sat for 
hours in the casualty department of your local hospital thinking 
“what on Earth are they doing back there?”... here's your chance to 
find out 


After the storming success of the Magic Carpet series on 
the PC, Bullfrog are currently putting the finishing touch- BULLFROG SHORT STORIES 
es to the Saturn and PlayStation conversions. F 

When we were with Bullfrog, we were privileged to see 
the first ever working version of the Saturn conversion 
which is due for release in March next year. 

These are some of the first available screen shots, show- 
ing the work in progress, but what they don't show is the 
enhanced speed which this version will run at (20 frames 
Per second, as opposed to the 12-16 frames per second 
on the average PC) 


F rammers hand 


CREATION 
From floating across the hillside on a mystical carpet, we now plunge you into the 
depths of the deepest lagoon in what looks like it will be another graphically stun 
ning future release from Bullfrog 

Decades of destruction have turned the Earth into an uninhabitable wasteland, 
with radiation and pollution killing most land-based creatures (sounds a lot like 
Covent Garden actually). Only the seas offered some sanctuary, and so the sur- 
viving aquatic species are transported to a man-made planet covered with water, 
However, the tranquil seas of Creation are also host to a deadly fungus, which acts 
as a powerful narcotic and changes any living thing who eats it into a psychotic 
maniac, intent on nothing more than getting their 
next fix. The player's task is to seek out and destroy 
the sentient fungus, and restore peace and harmony 
to the planet's surface 
Creation is due out in the Spring of 1996, and will ini- 
tially be available on PC CD, MAXIMUM will bring 
you a full review in the near future 


MAXIMUM + THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


OVER 20 PAGES OF INCISIVE CRITICISM ON THE TOP RELEASES OF THE 
MONTH FOR ALL “NEXT GENERATION” FORMATS! 


THE ESSENTIAL BUYERS GUIDE 


REVIEWS 


Welcome to the third instalment of the MAXIMUM Buyers Guide, the reviews section that actually tells 
you whether software is worth buying, as opposed to labelling games with some nondescript percent- 
age score. If a game's rubbish, we'll tell you it’s rubbish. It’s that simple really. 

This month's selection of software is actually pretty good, with very few titles receiving the dreaded 
two stars or less. In terms of quality software, it's the Saturn that fares best, with the phenomenal Virtua 
Cop, Sega Rally and Virtua Fighter 2 all being utterly brilliant. Another feather in Sega's cap is the fact 
that they haven't taken the mick with the PAL conversions. There are no obtrusive borders or speed loss 
on the top flight Sega produce - something that Sony can definitely learn from when it comes to their 
US and Japanese-sourced software making its way to European shores. 

As is always the case, you'll find truly informative features on the top software at the front of the mag 
in our Extended Play section. No title featured there will ever receive less than four stars. Every 
Extended Play is a guaranteed quality purchase. 


MAXIMUM RATINGS SYSTEM 


__Atruly outstanding release and an essential purchase for any one. 

kk A recommended title that's head and shoulders above the competition. 

eke Reserved for solid, fairly entertaining games that are missing a certain something. 

ee ———_—_Abelow-par videogame that could anly possibly appeal to the near-mythic “tan of the genre” -it such a thing exist. 
% Hideous, retarded software that should not blight your prized game collection under any circumstances. 


MAXIMUM RECOMMENDED 


VIRTUA COP Sega Saturn 


‘A lop qun game which others may tty to copy (witness Horned Owl) but no-one can surpass in terms ol testing 
gameplay. A deserved Christmas smash, Cop manages to stun on myriad levels, 


SOFTWARE LINE-UP 


Sega Saturn 

VIRTUA FIGHTER 2 

VIRTUA COP 

‘SEGA RALLY 

MYSTARIA 

GALACTIC ATTACK 

WORMS 

VIRTUA RACING 

FIRESTORM: THUNDERHAWK 2 


Sony Playstation 
MORTAL KOMBAT 3 

ASSAULT RIGS 

FIRESTORM: THUNDERHAWK 2 
TWISTED METAL 

PGA TOUR ‘96 

GOAL STORM 

ACTUA SOCCER 

AGILE WARRIOR 

LONE SOLDIER 

HI-OCTANE 

DEFCON 5 

ALONE IN THE DARK: JACK'S BACK 


Neo Geo CD 
SAMURAI SHODOWN 3 


3D0 

RETURN FIRE: MAPS 0" DEATH 
PO'ed 

FOES OF ALI 

ALONE IN THE DARK 2 


PC/CD-ROM 
THE DIG 

REBEL ASSAULT 2 
WORMS 

TUT 

TEKWAR 

SU-27 FLANKER 
STEEL PANTHERS 
MONOPOLY 
MANIC KARTS 
11TH HOUR 


ee ae 


kk 
~ 
kik 
ae 


See ae 
Cs 
tak 
ot 
kkk 
Fo 
kkk 
kkk 
a 
Ss 


SE GA RALLY Sega Saturn 


This month's cover game is yet another big player from the Sega stable of coin-ops, With its untouchable graphics 
and super-realistic gameplay, Rally 's another essential buy. Read the Extended Play starting on page 6. 


D 0 OM Sony PlayStation 


Yes, we reviewed it in the last issue of the magazine, but Doom gains a whole new lease of ile when played in the 
link-up Deathmatch mode. So it you haven't bought it yet, you're mad. 


A CTUA AY 1] C C. E R Sony PlayStation 


It certainly seems as though you lol are into soccer simulations forthe PlayStation, judging by the amount of units 
FIFA and the like have sold, Well, FIFA has been supplanted by this new Gremlin epic 


SAMURAI SHODOWN 3 Neo Geo 


Once again, the only Neo Geo game of the manth turns out to be something of a recommended ttle. Yes, i's anath 
er beal ‘em up and i's not really in the same league as King of Fighters, but I's different enough to warrant inves 
tigation. 


MAXIMUM GAME OF THE MONTH 


VIRTUA FIGHTER 2 


‘An uiterly incredible fighting game witha stunning range of 3D graphics 
‘and over 2,000 supertative moves... And the PAL conversion is unbe 
lievably good. Buy in confidence whichever Saturn you own - VF2 is 
amazing. 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE - MAXIMUM 139 


VIRTUA FIGHTER 


In Japan, it is officially the biggest 
game ever, eclipsing even the Street 
Fighter phenomenon at its height. 
Although not quite as popular over 
here or in the States, Virtua Fighter 2 is 
acknowledged as one of the best fight- 
ing games there is; visually stunning 
and extremely playable, with a huge 
array of techniques. 

It would perhaps be the understate- 
ment of the year to say that a lot rides 
on the quality of the Saturn conversion 

not least the future of the Sega super- 
console. It’s fortunate then that master 
programmers AM2 have confounded 
the sceptics and handed in a game 
that is remarkably similar to its coin-op 
parent - a game that's running on hard: 
ware that's 20 times more expensive 
than the Sega Saturn. 

The first thing to strike you about 
VF2 is undoubtedly the resolution. The 
sheer definition of the game is stun: 
ning - far in advance of anything seen 
on Saturn and PlayStation and very, 
very close indeed to its arcade parent. 
You wouldn't have seen anything like it 
on Saturn before and it's a fact that 
most of the magazine reviews you will 
see of this game will have substandard 
low-resolution frame grabs of VF2 
(MAXIMUM VF2 pics are full high res: 
olution but even this isn't as good as 
actually seeing the game on-screen) 
Trust us: seeing is truly believing with 
Virtua Fighter 2. 

Again, staying with visuals is the 
sheer fluidity of the action. Virtua 


Fighter 2 runs at the same speed as 
the arcade machine (60 fps) and has a 
smoothness to it that's unlike anything 
PlayStation 


seen before. Namco's 


140 MAXIMUM »* THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


Tekken is the only thing remotely close 
to it 

But while the game's graphics are 
the main attraction of Virtua Fighter 2, 
its staying power rests entirely on the 
gameplay. It would be fair to say that 
each of the characters is fairly unique. 


= ay 
RO gs 


Whereas there were a lot of shared 
techniques in VF1, the new game intro: 
duces new styles and far more moves 
for each fighter. The range of available 
moves is frankly breathtaking - the 
Japanese have just released a book 
called Virtua Fighter 2 Maniacs which 


PRESS START BUTTON | 
| 
ee | 


— 
= 


w= 


spends over 500 pages going into 
depth on every facet of the game's 
techniques. Finding all of VF1's 700- 
odd moves was tough going - VF2 has 
over 2,000, which remains the greatest 
number in any arcade fighting game 
available in the UK (pseudo-sequel 
Fighting Vipers remains something of 
an unknown at the time of writing) 

‘As well as the vast array of throws, 
punches and kicks, VF2 boosts the 
amount of reversals significantly. 
Previously, this was only the province 
of Pai, but now Kage, Akira and Wolf 
have them as well. Mastering them is 
pretty tough, but spectacular to watch. 
A MAXIMUM favourite has to be Akira 
who effortlessly shrugs an incoming 
kick aside and responds instantly with 
an elbow to the chest, which sends the 
opponent flying across the ring. These 
moves are the icing on the cake, and 
it's surprising to us that they haven't 
been copied by Sega's competitors 

In terms of options, again AM2 have 
excelled themselves. All of the options 
of VF1 have returned, but plenty of 
extras have been included, such as a 
bewildering array of multi-player 


options. There's no tournament mode, 
but better still is the King of Fighters- 
style Team Battle, which allows players 
to choose a team of five characters to 
control in an elimination scenario. It's 
touches such as this, along with com- 
prehensive selectables (including how 
long you want your replays!) which 
more than make up for any of the com- 
promises that are evident in the con- 
version 

Most notable in the list of compro- 
mises has to the absence of the 
bridges on Shun's stage (it's funny 
how most people only remember one), 
and the slightly ropey sound quality 
(there's so much more speech and 
sound effects that something had to 
give). Also, we're led to believe from 
VF2 director Keiji Okayasu that some 
of the reversal attacks have either been 
changed or removed, Let's just say 


MAXIMUM REVIEWS 


wea WAITINGFOR A CHALLENGER} 


ROUND 3 


Super-realistic visuals show the true 3D power of Sega Saturn! 


that we haven't noticed anything amiss 
yet. As explained in previous 
MAXIMUMs, the backdrops are no 
longer polygonised. They're 2D back- 
drops a la Tekken, only with more par. 
allax layers, including one that scales 
to accentuate depth - a peculiar hard- 
ware trick only Saturn can do. There 
was some initial concern about this 
compromise, but in the finished ver- 
sion, it appears to work well, The coin- 
op’s light sourcing is also missing, 
although some subtle changes in the 
colours between stages almost make 
up for it 

Additions such as Virtua Fighter 2.1 
data are to be commended as well - as 
well as the controllable Dural boss, this 
tightens up many areas of the game- 
play that experts exploited. It's also a 
nice addition in that the 2.1 upgrade 
was a Japan-only release, so finally us 
Westerners can find out what all of the 
fuss was about 

Virtua Fighter 2 isn't without its flaws 
however. The CPU player, like its 
arcade counterpart, is extremely sus- 
ceptible to throws, and unless you've 


played countless games against peo: 
ple with many different styles, the 
Expert Mode (which learns techniques 
and uses them against you) is actually 
easier than the Arcade mode! This 


ROUND 10 


might sound like nit-picking and the 
fact is, it probably is, because Virtua 
Fighter 2 is as near to the perfect 
Saturn game as we're ever likely to see 
this side of the sun 


The bottom line is this: PlayStation 
used to have the edge in 3D games, 
but nobody can be sure if Sony's 
machine is better now because Virtua 
Fighter 2 is such an astounding con- 
version, far superior to anything seen 
before on the machine. AM2's 
Research wing (who developed the 
SGL graphics engine) have recently 
announced that this conversion of VF2 
uses only 66% of the Saturn's power 
and that future games will be even bet- 
ter technically (we'll believe it when we 
see it). 

Until we see those games, though, 
Virtua Fighter 2 will do quite nicely. An 
incredible achievement that will 
undoubtedly sell thousands of Saturns 
- Not just on hype and flashy graphics, 
but on solid quality. 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE + MAXIMUM 141 


MAXIMUM REVIEWS, 


SEGA RALLY - AM3’ 


1°53"50 £ ‘ 
0°50"60 


There was never any doubt that 
this was going to be big. In fact there 
was very little doubt that it was ever 
going to be anything apart from 
absolutely amazing. After the clipping 
hi-jinx found in Daytona, it was imper- 
ative that Sega came up with an 
astounding title for their next racer, 
and thankfully, the finished Sega 
Rally is every bit as good as anyone 
could have ever hoped. Taking all of 
its front-end from the original arcade 
game, there's the immediate choice 
of three tracks to play on, in either 
championship or practice mode and 
every one of these tracks (including 
the extra Lakeside track) is a real 
technical accomplishment for pro 
grammers AMG, and even though the 


142 MAXIMUM » THE VIDEO G, 


frame update rate has been reduced 
to a mere 30 frames per second the 
action is still really smooth and con 
siderably faster than racing titles on 
other formats. And, unlike Time 
Warner's ‘version’ of Virtua Racing 
Which is also on offer this month, the 
in-game graphics are replicated from 
the arcade version and apart from a 
few minor details, remain virtually 
identical to its arcade counterpart 
There's no rear view mirror on offer, 
but this doesn't really spoil the game: 
play in any way whatsoever - in fact, it 
boosts the challenge of the tricky 
Lakeside course. 

One of the main reasons Daytona 
was criticised when it was released 
on the Saturn was the lack of a two- 


player option. Fortunately, Sega Rally, 
takes this in its stride in the form of a 
split-screen mode. This does suffer 
from a considerable lack of detail in 
comparison to the standard arcade 
mode - there's no audiences on any 
of the tracks and the game does suf- 
fer from slight visible clipping, but it 
still plays really well - even though 
we'd have preferred a link up mode. 
Still, the all-important speed remains 

Still despite, the slightly disap- 
pointing two-player mode, Sega Rally 
is still an absolutely outstanding title 
that really proves the technical worth 
of the Saturn. With the wealth of 
options on offer (including the time 
attack mode and the opportunity to 
fiddle with all the car settings), plus 


1°53"57 
0°52"40 


of in-depth 


AXIMUM team. 


1. AKIRA YUKI ] 


month 


the inclusion of plenty of secret 
modes (see our Extended Play fea- 
ture this issue) Saturn owners should 
rejoice in the fact that they have, with- 
out a doubt, the opportunity to play 
the best racing game ever created 
An essential buy, 

tke 


~=2°Player*Battie 


SLOWER CAR BOOST 


i 


MAXIMUM REVIEWS 


VIRTUA COP - Can SEGA successfully 
bring their arcade smash into the home? 


The answer to that, of course, is a 
resounding yes. Virtua Cop smacks of 
quality throughout its three levels and 
at times you'll be hard pushed to tell 
the difference between this Saturn ver- 
sion and the original arcade game. 
The basic premise of the title hardly 
needs explaining - this is probably one 
of the oldest game concepts ever - the 
aim being to shoot every bad guy that 
dares to show their face on the screen. 
But while it may employ one of the old- 
est gaming tricks in the book, the result 


is absolutely outstanding putting previ- 
ous plough ‘em down titles such as 
Lethal Enforcers to complete shame 
Naturally, there's more than a cou- 
ple of reasons for this. For a start, 
development gurus AM2 just don't do 
anything that’s not of the highest qual- 
ity possible, and while they may have 
palmed off one of their arcade hits 
(Virtua Racing) on to lesser program- 
mers, they've certainly ensured that 
this both looks and plays not only as 
well as the original, but with the inclu- 


sion of a Virtua Gun in the game pack- 
age, they've made it loads more fun 
than if you were just playing it with a 
joypad (which, incidentally, isn't too 
bad once you get used to the semi- 
cumbersome handling) 

The other reason for its near-perfect: 
ness is down to the fact that it doesn't 
require anything near the power 
required to bring something such as 
Virtua Fighter 2 to a home system, as 
although the graphics are generated in 
real time, the game is nowhere near as 
complicated. Which is all part of the 
attraction - it may be mindless shoot- 
ing, but at the end of the day this is 
loads more fun than, say, a complicat- 
ed RPG and even though it is relatively 
easy to complete (after all it has been 
out in the arcade for over a year) it's 
something that you'll come back to 
time and time again. especially as. 
‘once completed, there's AM2's now- 
famous ranking mode to conquer, plus 


tS 


MYSTARIA - Will this Japanese 


RPG woo UK audiences? 


Although Sega have had a few 
RPG hits in their time, it's never some: 
thing that's been hugely important in 
the way that they were almost essential 
to the success of the Super Nintendo. 
And, it seems they were even less 
important to Sega Europe, who in the 
past decided not to release most of the 
glut of Japanese titles on offer. 
Probably the most successful RPG 
Sega Europe ever released was the 
Shining Force series, and it's trom here 
that Mystaria takes most of its inspira- 
tion. The plot is completely uninspired 
(but to be fair, they're always the same 
anyway) - after a long period of peace 
and harmony, an evil tyrant has decid- 
ed to take over Queensland (from 
whence our Art Editor, Gary Harrod 
hails) and has turned many of the peo- 
ple into worthless slaves. He's also kid- 
napped the queen, and it’s down to a 


young prince and his band of merry 
warriors to sort out the mess. 

As is standard in RPGs today, most 
of the action revolves around having 
huge bundles in castles, dungeons, 
creepy forests and the likes, although it 
seems that in Mystaria you fight more 
often than is healthy and after battling 
through one confrontation you barely 
have time to breathe before you're 
flung into the next, This leaves little 
time to develop the story, and although 
you'll get to recruit new characters 
along the way, there's never time to get 
into any RPG ‘banter’ which is what 
often lifts the atmosphere of these 
sometimes dull outings. 

However, probably he most disap- 
pointing aspect of Mystaria is that it 
doesn't really use the Saturn's capabil- 
ities. Although the battles are played 
out in 3D which is a nice touch, there's 


no character voices - instead there's 
reams of boring text to plough through, 
plus the FMV intro at the beginning of 
the game is really only of average qual- 
ity, which is a shame. 

Still, this is a lot better than Sega's 
first Saturn RPG, Virtual Hydlide, and at 
times it's even quite good fun and it's 
certainly big enough to warrant a pur- 
chase if you like these kinds of titles 


‘a mirror mode and loads of other little 
extras (see our Extended Play feature 
this issue) included too. 

So after a somewhat shaky start, the 
Saturn really seems to be showing us 
its true power - Virtua Cop doesn't use 
the full power of the Saturn and its 
nigh-on arcade perfect - and with 
games like this on offer it's hard to see 
why anyone would be disappointed 
with the console. Along with VF2 and 
Rally, this is an absolutely essential 
Saturn purchase, and while it may not 
be the most technically astute or com- 
plicated title, it's easily the most 
instantly gratifying. A top-notch conver- 
sion that will be played and played and 
played - although for utmost enjoy- 
ment it's probably best to shell out £25 
for the extra gun, either for a top two- 
player game or for real Reservoir Dogs 
style action. 


tel. 


anyway. However, it's not going to win 
over any new recruits, because it gets 
very tedious at times. Nice enough, but 
apart from the battle graphics, there's 
Nothing here game-wise that hasn't 
been seen on a 16-bit machine. 

tee 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE » MAXIMUM 143 


MAXIMUM REVIEWS 


GALACTIC ATTACK - Turn 


your TV on its side! 


WORMS - 


There's few titles that have 
caused so much debate in the office 
this month as this one has. Currently 
enjoying rave reviews from almost 
every single games magazine, you 
could be led to believing that it is 
indeed one of the best titles ever to 
appear on a console, which in itself is 
quite difficult to believe considering 
that its roots lie in the Amiga. But this 
fact alone should give you some clue 
as to what to expect from the title 
loads of piddly little characters wan 
dering around a screen aka Lemmings 
and plenty of fiddly irritating gameplay. 
But, that's why some people like it. 

Basically, Worms is Lemmings, but 
it's without the puzzles and with 
weapons instead. There's something 
like three million possible landscapes 
that the computer can generate and 
armed with your legion of worms, you'll 
have to outwit, out-puzzie and out- 
blast your opponent. Apparently this is 
an absolutely hilarious task, because 
you get to name your worms after 
famous people, then of course you can 
shout out “Ha hal I've just taken out 
The Beatles and Cilla back with my 
rocket launcher!” Completely outra- 
geous or what? 

Yes, as you might be able to tell, this 


With the wealth of top-quality titles 
currently on release for the Saturn, it's 
quite a difficult task to a review a game 
that would slot itself into a “classic 
genre. Without ever being a classic in 
the first place of course. This was 
released in Japan around four months 
ago under the name of LayerSection 
and although it's not ground-breaking 
in any way, it didn't do too badly over 
there. It probably won't do too badly 
over here either, because although it 
doesn't look the part or break back any 
technical boundaries, it's actually quite 
good fun. 

Layersection will remind you of all 
those shoot ‘em ups seen in the 
arcades about eight years ago - it's a 
vertically scrolling screen and your 
minuscule space craft must plough 
down all the aliens that get in the way. 
There's plenty of action and loads of 
power-ups and weapons to pick up. 
and it's all very much a frantic shoot 
‘em up fan's perfect game. At one 
point there's even the chance to turn 
your TV on its side when the action 
switches from vertical play to horizon- 
tal play - which is a nice idea even if it 


isn't very practical in execution (and 
not particularly healthy for your televi 
sion) 

However, although it's true that this 
in itself is a nice enough title, it's hard 
ly what you'd expect to see on a con: 
sole that can handle the likes of VF2 
without so much as a sniff, Of course, 
that's no reason to slag it off outright, 
but it's difficult to imagine anyone rush 
ing out to buy this, simply because it's 
a) not one of those titles that has a 
massive history behind it (such as the 
collection of Namco arcade classics 
currently doing the rounds on the Play 
station) and b) there's just to many 
other good titles available at the 
moment. It's true that there aren't 
many titles of this genre available on 
the Saturn, but even so, it still pales in 
comparison to both Sega's big three 
and even some of their first generation 
titles such as Panzer Dragoon 

Come on - be honest now - is this 
really the sort of game you coughed up 
£300 to play with your high-tech next 
generation gaming system? Playable it 
may be, but it's not really worth buying, 
ee 


Lemmings with guns! 


hasn't really grown on us much. But 
that's not to say it's a bad title. if you 
like the idea of playing Lemmings with 
guns over loads of levels with multi: 
player and sudden death options 
(which incidentally, a lot of people 
seem to) this could be the game for 


you. It's certainly had people here 
enraptured over the last month and 
could last for an infinity. But, if you 
don't have the patience for it, you may 
find it a dull and pointless exercise. 
tee 


~ 
a 


Yes, it probably was a bit of a foolish 
idea, looking back on it, But you know 
what they say - sign up in haste and 
repent at leisure. At the time though, it 
must have seemed great - Virtua 
Racing was massively successful in 
the arcades and even in the light of a 
home conversion of Sega Rally, the 
prospect of playing an arcade perfect 
Virtua Racing is still extremely attrac 
tive. Unfortunately, in this case, things 
seem to have gone horribly wrong. 
Hopes may be high when the original 
Virtua Racing logo appears on the 
screen, but what happens after that 
can only be described as a travesty. 
This is nothing like the arcade Virtua 
Racing and it's probably fair to say that 
it's not even as good Virtua Racing on 
the 32X in terms of gameplay. The cars 
(on the option screens may look fairly 
slick, but once into the game you'll find 
it difficult to believe that the two are 
somehow interlinked. The cars seem 
as though they're hovering over the 
track and there's no pull or heaviness 
to them so it's more like a go-karting 
game than an arcade racing conver- 
sion. In fact, Time Warner haven't even 


managed to get the course graphics 
right either. The basic lay-outs from the 
original title is in there, but it’s lost 
something (a lot actually)in the transla 
tion - the course features look jagged 
and rough, and all the fine detail has 
been completely lost. 

But that's only to be expected when 
you take on a game licence that was 
originally programmed by one of the 
best research teams in the world. If you 
take it as a game in its own right, it's an 
average enough racer that would keep 
anyone occupied for a fair while - just 
as most racing games probably would 
It's pretty easy to get into and if it was- 
n't for the glaring fact that is nothing 
like the original and the obvious matter 
of a certain other monster title on offer 
this month, it may have been worth a 
look. It's not completely awful by any 
means, but it's almost impossible to 
imagine anyone buying this when they 
have either the choice of Sega Rally or 
Daytona USA, which despite its techni- 
cal inadequecies remains far superior 
to this very lacking and disappointing 
conversion of an arcade classic. 
ee 


FIRESTORM - ¢ 


Core Design have always been 
renowned for their innovative console 
titles and for no title does this seem 
more apt than Thunderhawk, original- 
ly released on console around two 
years ago (and on PC and Amiga in 
its very first incarnation about five 
years ago). This managed to perk up 
the rather gaunt face of the Mega-CD 
and at the time, even made the 


machine seem like a sound invest 
ment. Yes, it really was that good 


But, a lot has happened since then 
The Mega-CD has come and gone. 
replaced by much more capable 
gaming beasts. But, this doesn't 
mean that Core have disappeared off 
into oblivion. No, they've decided to 
create games for the Saturn now, and 
for their first one they've dragged 
Thunderhawk back out of the cup- 
board and given it the revamp treat- 
ment. And to coin a phrase - why not? 


The result is surprisingly playable 
and at a first glance it's difficult to tell 
that that the two titles were ever relat: 
ed, The graphics, apart from the gen: 
eral helicopter theme, are unrecog- 
nisable from the Mega-CD version 
and are probably the slickest flight 
visuals ever seen on a Sega console 
There's an increased number of mis: 
sions for this version and the game 
runs much faster too. So, it's congrat 
ulations all round for the boys at 


Core. 

But, there are a few misgivings to 
be found. First, and most importantly, 
the screen update, is at times, awful 
Although you may not notice this 
when you're actually playing the 
game because your concentration is 
spent elsewhere, if you watch some- 
one else playing it, it becomes glar- 
ingly apparent, It only take the slight 
movement of the helicopter to pro- 


MAXIMUM REVIEWS | 


duce the old trees-out-of-nowhere 
trick and once noticed, it’s difficult to 
overlook it, Also, although there are 
plenty of missions (all of them dis- 
turbingly familiar to any one who's 
played the Mega-CD version), some 
of them are very simple indeed 

Still, despite the clipping and some 


small mission sizes, Firestorm is still 
the best sim available for the Saturn - 
it knocks the stuffing out of Sega's 
forthcoming Wing Arms and is still 
mightily impressive. It just could have 
been that bit more slick, 

tte 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE * MAXIMUM 145 


MORTAL KOMBAT 3 


In an attempt to corner the Christmas 
market, Sony Interactive have finally 
released their huge arcade conversion 
that was tempting prospective buyers 
far before the machine was even avail: 
able. Mortal Kombat has finally arrived 
after the months of hype and an 
American launch, but faces stiff com: 
petition from the likes of Tekken, Virtua 
Fighter 2 and the forthcoming Street 
Fighter Alpha. Does this 2D digitised 
blood bath have what it takes in an 
increasingly sophisticated console 
market? 

After an initial loading delay, we 
were treated to the arcade introduction 
detailing the various character back- 
grounds and general overview of Shao 
Kahn's attempted mastery of the out 
realm. Next we ventured into the 
options screen and were pleasantly 
surprised at the sheer number of 
tweaks that you can make in honing 
your game to your exact specifications. 
Finally, we entered the character select 
screen itself, and began our Mortal 
Kombat in earnest. 

Sound-wise, this game is top-notch. 
with the eerie combat music tracks 
complementing the fighting whilst 
crunching and crystal-clear sound 
effects finish off the whole ensemble 


excellently. The only problem is the 


loading delay between effects which 
sometimes result in the abrupt end of 
the announcer's messages, What is 
1 playing this 
game is the simple fact that Sony have 
Not even attempted any sort of PAL 
optimisation; there are very obtrusive 
and sizable borders throughout the 
game, and the speed of the characters 
is sluggish to say the least, Then again 


much more apparent wh 


those people who haven't played the 
import version possibly won't notice: 
but arcade fans should be prepared for 
the worst, The characters move very 
slowly as if wading through treacle, 
and this detracts from the overall feel of 
the game as well as changing the tim 
ing for the special moves and combos. 

The Mortal Kombat game genre 
needs no introduction, and is loved by 
a multitude of beat 'em up fans the 
world over, but the MAXIMUM team 
feels that the gameplay is too shallow 
and relies too heavily on the finishing 
moves for the majority of the entertain 
ment. This is just personal taste; what 
is important to the gamer is the quality 
of this conversion, and whether fans of 
the game should buy it 

With this in mind, prospective buy: 
ers should be aware that this is a badly 


bordered and slow version of a game 
that suffers from loading times, some 
which become painfully apparent in 
mid-combat, such as the Shang Tsung 
morphing. Apart from these flaws, this 
is a carbon copy of the first MK 3 coin- 
op with slightly smaller digitised char 


acters. Unfortunately, in a frenzied 
attempt to scoop an exclusive, Sony 
have succeeded in creating an outdat 
ed version of the game that has 
already been superseded in arcades 
by Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (featuring 
new characters and backgrounds); a 
revamp that is being transferred to the 
Saturn (and Ultra 64) for a 1996 
release. To sum up, this is a rushed 
conversion, and one that should not be 
repeated unless Sony wish their high 
standards to slip. 

tee 


MAXIMUM REVIEWS 


FIRESTORM: THUNDERHAWK 2 


Core Design have earned them- 
selves two reputations: one for creat- 
ing innovative and very playable titles 
(set to continue with the likes of Tomb 
Raiders), whilst the second is less 
prestigious as they have also become 
famous for backing ill-fated technolo- 
gy. Having restricted themselves to the 
doomed Mega-CD and 32X, Core have 
now seen the light and the PlayStation 
now ironically plays host to a sequel of 
the game that put them on the Mega- 
CD map. 

Firestorm is as close to a proper 
flight simulation as the Sony machine 
is set to see in the foreseeable future. 
Controlling a futuristic helicopter, the 
player is dropped into eight battle sce- 
narios, which later pave the way to 
seven more complex missions. In com- 
plete contrast to the ‘wham, bam, 
kerblam’ antics of Virgin's apocalyptic 
Agile Warrior, Firestorm requires plan: 
ning and genuine precision on the 
player's part. The missions vary from 
seek and destroy zones to guarding a 
convoy, and each is fraught with dan- 
ger. Having selected the mission, the 
player is then invited to tool up their 
chopper or take the CPU-advised pay: 
load, The helicopter can only manage 
‘a specific weight, so opting for thou 
sands of air-to-ground missile is not an 
option, The 3D play area is then dis- 
played with a surprising amount of 


ground detail but, sadly, some atro- 
cious clipping in places. The latter is 
particularly noticeable in the canyon- 
based missions, and it is all-too com- 
mon for the player to fly towards what 
appears to be a gap in the landscape 
but is revealed to be another part of a 
wall at the last minute! 

The missions carry a number of 
main objectives and targets and any: 
thing else in the game is unimportant 
a major shortcoming. Prolonged play 
reveals that all the missions are played 
within a set square area and the main 
targets are highlighted by the on board 
computer. As such, although the 
weight of enemy planes and vehicles 
initially proves daunting, the same ploy 


£ 


of heading straight for the main tar- 
gets, taking them out and running like 
hell soon proves a little repetitive. 
Granted, there is the option to stay and 
fight, but the missions are still rather 
too short. That said, Firestorm is still 
the best of the 3D blasters the 
PlayStation has to offer, but its short- 
comings prevent it from the recogni- 
tion the Mega-CD version earned. 
ok 


PlayStation 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE * MAXIMUM 147 


‘MAXIMUM REVIEWS 


TWISTED METAL 


One of the greatest restrictions 
imposed within 3D games is that the 
player is never really given a free run of 
the play area. Linear paths nearly 
always restrict the player to a predeter- 
mined route and, no matter how inter- 
esting the horizon looks, the option to 
have a little look around is rarely afford: 
ed. Enter Sony with Twisted Metal; a 
seemingly innocuous, under-hyped 
title which offers the player control over 
a number of high-powered, suitably 
tooled-up vehicles with the basic mis- 
sion of blowing seven shades out of 
like-minded CPU players. However, 
while Twisted Metal initially dumps the 
player into a small arena roughly the 
size of a circus ring, a few rounds later 
and you'll find yourself running amok 
across a typical-looking suburban 
landscape that wouldn't look out of 
place in a US sitcom. And this is one of 
the strongest points in Twisted Metal - 
the freedom the huge play areas allow 
for a game where not only does the 
player have to perform fantastic turns 
to lose their opponent, but they get the 
chance to run wherever they like! 


ASSAULT RIGS - Sony success or 


The game opens with a choice of 
vehicles, Twisted Metal is far from your 
normal battle game, and anyone 
expecting a serious rival to Assault 
Rigs with hi-tech tanks should look 
elsewhere. Instead, the Sony game 
offers Police cars, a yellow New York 
cab, and an Ice Cream van (amongst 
others), each of which comes 
equipped with basic strengths and 
weaknesses, alongside a range of 
armoury to blow the opposition out of 
the game, With the vehicle chosen, the 
3D play area is unveiled and, to begin 
with, the player is pitted against a solo 
opponent, Using the infinite supply of 
guns and the limited power-ups on 


board and hidden within buildings 
punctuating the play area, both vehi- 
cles have an energy bar, and the first 
person to see theirs reach zero is out. 
With the warm-up stage completed, a 
city block awaits with four opponents 
chasing the player, while the aforemen- 
tioned suburbia then plays host to the 
full gamut of cars and trucks. 

Sony have really tried hard with 
Twisted Metal and while it plays very 
well, the game is far too short. The 
handful of levels may indeed offer the 
user the chance to explore the entire 
play area, but the downside is that the 
size of the levels are proportionally 
whittled away by the levels on offer. 


yberSled on steroids? 


The company formerly known as 
Psygnosis is well into the second 
phase of its PlayStation game develop: 
ment programme, and is hoping to wow 
the gaming public once again with a 
second wave of quality software titles. 
Spearheading this campaign are 
Assault Rigs and Krazy Ivan, Assault 
Rigs places you at the helm of a Virtual 
Reality battle tank in the ‘ultimate 
arcade experience of the future’, On 
each of the 40+ levels, you must tra: 
verse the virtual battle arena, firing at 
both stationary and moving opponents 


before whilst collecting a set number of 
power gems in order to open the exit 
This is essentially in game in its entirety, 
as despite the differing theatres of war 
and increasingly complex level designs, 
the level objectives remain the same. 
Positioned every so often throughout 
the game are arena levels that provide a 
slight diversion to the task at hand: 
where a larger number of enemies must 
be culled and a huge number of gems 
collected in one huge placing area 
These levels (of which three exist) are 
most similar to CyberSled (the game's 


148 MAXIMUM * THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


main competitor), but the quality of the 
title is superior to Namco's effort, and 
the action is more orientated towards 
the likes of Twisted Metal 

This game, whilst sounding quite 
entertaining in theory, unfortunately has 
a variety problems in practice. Apart 
from the headache-inducing camera 
angles, the graphics glitch badly and 
the game itself is far too easy to com- 
plete. It was hoped that the simultane- 
ous two-player action would spruce 


Presumably realising this, Sony have 
added a split-screen two-player mode, 
but not enough of the play area is 
shown and this proves particularly con- 
fusing in the heat of battle. A playable 
game, but one which is probably des- 
tined for obscurity, 

tek 


PlayStation 


matters up a bit, but added little to the 
overall nature of the game; being far 
less fun than multi-player Doom, This is 
one of the game's fundamental prob: 
lems; it is too linear and (despite the 
diverse levels) is not sufficiently enter. 
taining to keep you enthralled. A mildly 
entertaining title, spoilt by a number of 
niggling flaws, mainly in the gameplay 
department. 

eek 


HI-OCTANE 


With WipeOut sitting in virtually 
every PAL machine in the UK, Bullfrog 
find themselves up against stiff compe- 
tition as they unveil an updated version 
of their PC classic. With slightly less 
finesse than the SIE game, Hi-Octane 
follows the same lines by inviting the 
player to partake in a series of death or 
glory races across a number of tortu- 
ous tracks, The game is essentially the 
same as the PC original, with six vehi- 
cles at your disposal and the tracks lit- 
tered with power-ups and extra 
weaponry needed to gain an advan- 
tage over the opposition. However, one 
major advantage over the PC version is 
that Bullfrog have taken the opportuni- 
ty to add a split-screen, two-player 
mode. Oddly enough, the addition of a 
second player only makes things 
worse, and the screen jerks around so 


much when utilising the split-screen as 
to make the game virtually unplayable 
- while we appreciate Bullfrog incorpo- 
rated the option as a strike against the 
need for two PlayStations for linked 
WipeOut, it only goes to hamper the 
game further. 

Such is the power of the PlayStation 
that it comes to something when last 
year's top of the range PC game looks 
sorely dated. Hi-Octane's courses and 
vehicles can't compete with those in 
WipeOut, and it even fails to match the 
originality of Mindscape's Cyberspeed. 
Whereas WipeOut required genuine 
skill to master its cornering and over- 
taking, the courses in Hi-Octane have 
less involving and, with the exception 
of the odd shortcut, there's very little 
else to surprise. Granted, the six vehi- 
cles do feature differing abilities, but 


Can Bullfrog compete with the 
awesome WipeOut? 


the actual racing itself doesn’t have 
that vital edge to spur the player on to 
more glory. If Hi-Octane had been 
released a year or so back, no doubt 
Saturn owners would have been in 
awe. However, WipeOut and Ridge 
Racer have shown the potential for 
PlayStation racers, and the Bullfrog 
offering comes across as little more 
than a weak PC port, A classic exam- 
ple of how far games have progressed 
in the last year. 

a 


\ A \ ae 


rt 


MAXIMUM REVIEWS 


With the interminable Striker '96 rel- 
egated to the Endsleigh League of 
PlayStation football games, Konami 
run on to the pitch with a PAL version 
of their Japanese title, Winning Eleven. 
A roaring success with our Eastern 
cousins, Goal Storm seems to have it 
all: huge polygon players, replays from 
every conceivable viewpoint, and an 
array of bicycle kicks and diving head- 
ers. Sadly, it also has a simple way of 
scoring virtually every time and 
extremely limited playability 

Offering a full range of International 
teams, leagues and tournaments, Goal 
Storm keeps up with the likes of FIFA 
and Striker ‘96 as far as the options 
menu. From here, however, it all goes 
pear-shaped. Initial impressions are 
favourable as the huge sprites run on 
to the pitch, The players are polygon- 
based, with the rough edges light- 
sourced for extra detail - similarly, the 
pitch is large and detailed with nets 
that actually ripple when the ball hits 
the back. Control over the player is 
simplistic, with the four facia buttons 
used to effect passes, lobs and shots, 
with the CPU assisting by selecting the 
player nearest the ball and switching 
control when necessary. In addition to 
these basic moves, though, the L and 
R buttons come into play when the 
player is in the penalty area with a well- 
timed press of the top buttons prompt- 
ing the said bicycle kicks and headers. 
Pulling these shots off at first is a real 


treat, and the action replays show 
them from the best possible views, 
enhancing the glory. However, after 
mere minutes of play it soon becomes 
apparent that the CPU goalies have no 
way of stopping the majority of diago- 
nal shots and thus high-scoring games 
are a matter of course. 

Sadly, Goal Storm is another Sony 
soccer casualty with FIFA still reigning 
supreme, as the PlayStation-owning 
fans await Gremiin's imminent Actua 
Soccer. Which is light years ahead of 
this lacking effort 
+e 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE + MAXIMUM 149 


MAXIMUM REVIEWS 


ACTUA SOCCER 


<> 


PlayStation 


Box CaNERa 3 


150 MAXIMUM » THE VIDEO G 


Gremlin’s entrance into the 
overcrowded PlayStation football mar: 
ket has to be very good to compete 
with the glut of recent soccer titles 
although they haven't got much to be 
worried about from most of the compe: 
tition - Striker and Goal Storm just 
don't cut the mustard. However, as 
MAXIMUM readers will know, FIFA is 
pretty damn good, The question is, can 
Actua Soccer better it? 

In terms of visuals, there is absolute- 
ly no doubt that Actua is far superior. 
The pitch is more detailed and far 
smoother than FIFA, and the players 
themselves are by far and away the 
best seen yet in a PlayStation soccer 
game. There's none of the sprite-scal- 
ing pokery as depicted in FIFA. It's a 
full-on polygon frenzy, with exceptional 
motion captured players. The detail is 
quite phenomenal - there is absolutely 
no doubt that the game just can't be 
touched on a visual level. This factor 


alone will probably result in a fair few 
sales - if you saw Actua head-to-head 
with FIFA in your local software empo 
rium, there'd be little doubt as to what 
game would sell 

On the aural side of things, we're 
treated to yet another famous com 
mentator providing incisive remarks. 
This time, MC Barry Davies |s in the 
house, supplying what is probably the 
best voice-over to date - it's not quite 
as repetitive as FIFA’s Motson vocals, 
and although its appeal is strictly short 
term, it serves its purpose in bringing 
players into the game. 

But of course, it’s the gameplay and 
the wealth of options which makes the 
difference between an Endsleigh 
league simulator and a_ true 
Premiership contender and Actua cer- 
tainly comes up trumps. The control 
mode takes a short while to get to grips 
with, and the choice of camera angle is 
extremely important (some of the more 
spectacular views aren't exactly con- 
ducive to great gameplay), but once 
you've got the hang of it, the action is 
richly rewarding, 

After last month's experience with 
FIFA, it would have been too easy to 
write off any new contender, but there's 
just no doubt that Actua Soccer is an 
excellent simulator that’s definitely the 
best soccer-orientated product on the 
market, It's also great to see an English 
company producing the best 
PlayStation translation of our national 
sport 
toe 


LONE SOLDIER 


The advent of 32-bit technology 
gives developers the chance to take 
old ideas and recreate them using per- 
spectives the likes of the Megadrive 
and Super NES could never handle 
As such, with the likes of Warhawk tak- 
ing the battle against the alien hordes 
into the third dimension, Telstar have 
gone one better and looked back to 
Capcom and SNK's Commando and 
Ikari Warriors coin-ops for their inspira- 
tion, 

Lone Soldier casts the player as the 
eponymous marine, yomping into six 
3D stages containing the obligatory 


Sle 


army bad boys and, towards the end of 
the game, an alien base. 

While the idea is sound, however, 
Lone Soldier’s greatest problem is its 
speed - or lack of it. The aforemen- 
tioned Commando and Ikari Warriors 
were successful because they offered 
uncomplicated blasting action coupled 
with fast-paced stages. With such a 
game now deemed far to simplistic for 
the Sony machine, Lone Soldier finds 
itself struggling with a sluggish target- 
ing system and a main sprite who 
moves far too slowly to bring any pace 
to the proceedings. The action Is 


AGILE WARRIOR 


Virgin’s PlayStation debut 
offers more explosions and destruction 
possibilities than the entire Die Hard 
trilogy of films. Commanding a F-111X 
Fighter plane, the player finds themself 
dropped in the heart of a number of 
warzones, each of which contains a 
number of targets and related sub- 
Stages. However, if things are starting 
to sound a little similar to the events 
seen in Core's Firestorm, any real sim- 
ilarity ends beyond the 3D scrolling 
Forget weapon payloads and the intri- 
cacies of entering a war-zone, Agile 


‘ee, 


Warrior revels in its sheer, wanton 
destruction. Whether it be locating a 
space shuttle or nuking a pacific 
island, you can guarantee every mis- 
sion in Agile Warrior ends in a huge 
explosion of some kind. Similarly, while 
destroying objects in Firestorm sends 
a tiny figure scuttling for cover from the 
wreckage, Agile Warrior not only lets 
the player kill the survivor, but also 
shows the poor unfortunate erupting in 
a gout of blood! Similarly, if a pilot of a 
felled plane bails out, the player can 
shoot the escapee for extra points and 
all that remains is a severed torso drop- 
ping gracefully to earth 

From the moment the game begins 
with an Afterburner-style zoom from 
behind the plane into the cockpit, the 
emphasis is on speed, Control over the 
plane is limited to accelerating and 
decelerating, summoning a targeting 


MAXIMUM REVIEWS 


viewed from behind the huge player 
sprite, with the six locations scrolling 
towards the player, bringing the enemy 
as it does so, Drifting directly in front of 
your sprite is a large cursor and the L 
and R buttons allows for the precise 
positioning of this, with a machine gun 
cutting a path through the enemy 
hordes via a quick press of the but- 
tons. In addition to the expected foot 
soldiers, the Lone Soldier also runs 
into huge vans, tanks, and gun turrets 
which give way to stranger beasts and 
alien technology towards the end of 
the game. To combat these, though, 
conveniently-timed weapon drops 
equip the player with flame-throwers, 
bazookas and an M40 - while the ini- 
tially limited supply of grenades can 
also be bolstered this way. 


LOW ARH 


map, and switching between the 
dozens of weapons on offer, All the 
usual air-to-air and air-to-ground mis- 
siles are available, and locking on and 
firing is simplicity itself. However, such is 


A true PlayStation apocalypse! 


the speed of the action that even if you 
have time to watch a felled helicopter 
spiral into the ground (with explosion to 
follow - naturally), the exhilaration gener- 
ated will have you locking on to the next 
target already. In terms of sheer playabil- 
ity, Agile Warrior has it sussed, Extra 
weapons are found by engaging in the 
main aim of the game and blowing up 
installations to free a floating icon, whilst 


With the idea of placing an old idea 
in 3D is fine, it does seem a pity that a 
little more imagination wasn't used 
when creating the game's foes. Only 
occasionally does the perspective offer 


any innovations - a trio of abseiling 
squaddies who drop from above, for 
example - and with the game following 
a very ‘stop-start’ pattern of yomping 
towards foes, cutting a path through 
them and marching on to the the next 
batch, a little variety would have been 
appreciated. Sadly, this just about 
sums up Lone Soldier, and while 
Telstar’s game is fun in the short-term 
you can't help but reflect just what 
could have been. 

** 


collection is simply a matter of flying 
through the freed item. Even the addition 
of a FMV mission briefing at the start of 
game cannot disguise the fact that your 
mission, should you accept it, is nothing 
but a series of ground attacks. Ultimately, 
this is also Agile Warrior's failing. As 
exciting as blowing everything up is, it 
also proves a little stifling after a while 
and the game's lack of longevity soon 
becomes apparent. Yes, the addition of 
viewing the action through a missile 
adds to the fun, but even so the missions 
become a little limited after prolonged 
play. As a game you can pick up every 
now and then to enjoy a quick blast, 
Agile Warrior is untouchable, but anyone 
wanting a litle more depth will be invest- 
ing in Core's game. 

oto 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE * MAXIMUM 151 


MAXIMUM REVIEWS 


ALONE IN THE DARK: JACK’S BACK 


- But is it too little, too late? 


The Tyron Corporation specialise in 
automating security systems on distant 
mining worlds, Their automated robot 
guards are regarded as some of the 
best the 22nd Century has to offer, and 
in Millenium’s new title for SIE, the play- 
er is given 48 hours to alter an existing 
‘system over to the Tyron mechanism. 
However, while the switching of a few 
switches doesn't exactly sound like the 
most exciting premise for a video game, 
the FMV intro furthers the plot as things 
go predictably wrong. As you enter the 
building and start work, an alien attack 
force blasts the building and destroys a 
central part of the computer base. As a 
result, things are complicated with the 
aforementioned robots running wild 
and the odd appearance of the alien 
marines as you race against time to set 
things right 

With a scenario as well crafted as 
this, by rights Defcon 5 should be the 
PlayStation equivalent of a disaster 
movie. However, one thing stops 
Millenium’s game being a serious rival 
to the likes of The Towering Inferno or 


Airport 75: a severe lack of pace. If the 
base is indeed under siege, it is obvious 
only a skeleton staff of aliens doing the 
rounds. As you tinker with the icons 
needed to put things right and commu- 
nicate with the base's computer (VOS), 
there are more interminable corridors to 
wander through than a dozen episodes 
of Blake's 7. Initially, these 3D areas 
give the impression of a Doom 
sequence where the alien hordes block 
the way to the next terminal, Nope, as 
you head off after returning the base to 
your control only the occasional skir- 
mish keeps you busy. The whole point 
of Defcon is that the game hots up as 
the player restores key aspects of secu- 
rity system, but it all happens so slowly 
any wish to continue is rapidly eroded. 
If atmosphere was what the program- 
mers of Defcon were after, they have 
succeeded in their quest. But if only 
drawing the player into to what could 
have been a very engrossing idea had 
been their main goal 

* 


152 MAXIMUM «* THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


Anyone expecting Intogrames’ 
first contribution to the PlayStation to 
feature Asterix, TinTin or any other 
licensed French hero will be surprised 
to see the Gallic company scouring 
their PC back catalogue instead 
Based on the PC version of Alone In 
The Dark Il - one of the most ground- 
breaking arcade/adventures to date - 
the Sony game runs under the title of 
Jack's Back - pertaining to the return of 
the game's master villain, one One- 
Eyed Jack. A big-time smuggler, mur- 
derer and all-round bad-guy, Jack has 
extended his range of crimes to add 
kidnapping to his CV. As such, step- 
ping into the immaculately polished 
shoes of the game's hero, Edward 
Camby, your mission is twofold: res- 
cue the child (Grace) and in the 
process avenge the murder of an old 
friend offed by Jack. The game is set in 
the roaring twenties, in a coastal area 
of California lovingly-entitled Hell's 


Kitchen, and the Infogrames’ graphic 
designers have had a field-day creat- 
ing a series of rooms and locations 
which could have stepped out of the 
pages of one of HP Lovecraft’s Cthulu 
books. 

Play begins with an unarmed 
Carnby exploring a series of 3D loca- 
tions in search of weapons and stum- 
bling across members of One-Eyed 
Jack's crew, As such, initially the game 
allows the user to get to grip with the 
often sluggish controls and master the 


PGA TOUR ‘96 


The PlayStation golf market is 
every bit as busy as the soccer scene, 
and it falls to EA's classic PGA Tour to 
become the first to tee off. Beating US 
Gold's World Cup Golf and Gremlin's 
Actua Golf by a month, PGA's pedigree 
is probably enough to generate a few 
thousand sales alone. Unfortunately, 
while PGA is indeed a playable golf 
game, this Sony incarnation is the 
weakest of the series yet and surpris- 


as dosuce — (E) 


ingly fails at a number of hurdles itS 
Megadrive and PC siblings leapt easily. 

Opening with an atrocious piano 
tune reminiscent of a Richard 
Clayderman track, a full menu of skins, 
tournaments and practice rounds 
awaits the armchair Balesteros. The 
play screen will be familiar to anyone 
whole has played PGA on another 
machine, with the action viewed from 
behind the player's suitably attired 
sprite with a power bar to the top-right 
of the screen. Every aspect of play can 
be tinkered with, from the choice of 
club to the sprite’s stance before strik- 
ing the ball, It seems, though, that so 
much work have gone on these smaller 
points, that fundamental problems 
seem to have slipped through the net. 
While basic driving and chipping is 
easy to effect and looks superb, the 
behaviour of the ball is very odd 
indeed, The actual flight is fine, but as 
soon as the ball hits the ground it tends 
to stop dead and barely rolls at all - a 
fact that will have die-hard golfers up in 
arms. This problem stretches to 
putting, too, and the precise system EA 
have implemented is wasted as the ball 
trundles along only to stop dead as 
opposed to rolling to a slow stop. 

Quite frankly, PGA Tour is the weak- 
est of the golf games due and really lets 
down the remarkable series quite 
badly. Armchair golfers are best 
advised to await the efforts lined up by 
Gremlin and US Gold 
*e 


art of fisticuffs, targeting the guns and 
weapons on offer, and picking up and 
using items using Carnby's inventory 
screen, To be fair, although the con 
trols are a little imprecise, the overall 
method of collecting and using objects 
is simple and effective, and the player 
is soon drawn into a game which 
evokes an atmosphere of doom and 
reveals more and more hidden plots 
and twists as the player progresses. 
After a handful of puzzles are complet 
ed one of the twists is the inclusion of 
the kidnappee, Grace, into the action. 
Giving her cumbersome guards the 
slip, Grace offers a different slant to the 
proceedings than Edward as the little 
girl is incapable of protecting herself 
physically, and must thus use stealth to 
bypass guards, This adds an element 
of logical thinking to the action, and 
supplements the more adventurous 


| 
i “dB and,“Playstation’ pow 2 


Playstation 
Baas Psygnosi§} 


pnd fiaeer Soécer™ at 


side of Edward's role perfectly. 

There is a downside, however. Alone 
In The Dark: Jack's Back does indeed 
offer a long-lasting mystery, but the 
imminent Resident Evil does every- 
thing so much better and we feel the 
Infogrames game may be lost in the 
clamour to buy Capcom's similar tale 
of monsters and mystery. The fact that 
Jack's Back is a PC conversion dates it 


tf SemPCorfiputer Entertainment inc. 
iks,of, Psygnosis Ltd, 


MAXIMUM REVIEWS | 


already, and the ported polygon char- 
acters and backdrops just can't hold a 
candle to the light-sourced snakes and 
monsters lurking in Resident Evil. If 
you can't wait until March, though 
Jack's Back still offers more surprises 
than most of the Sony games on offer 
and can also claim to be the first ‘true’ 
arcade/adventure for the system. 

eke 


MAXIMUM 
PLAYSTATION 


s the world over. The 

tion has to be, how do the various 

layStation soccer games match up? Which 

best, and which unfortunate release 

(get the MAXIMUM caning? To answer your 
questions, examing the following li 


1 ACTUA SOCCER 


BY GREMUIN INTERACTIV 


2 FIFA SOCCER 


BY ELECTRONIC ART: 


3 GOAL STORM 
4 STRIKER '96 


BY TIME WARNER IN 


5 HYPER FORMATION SOCCER 


MAN 


BY MAXIMUM 


SAMURAI SHODOWN 3 


As is blatantly obvious by now, SNK 
have spent the last two years saturat 
ing the arcade and home markets with 
a string of 2D one-on-one beat ‘em 
ups. These have ranged from the 
mediocre (Aggressors of Dark 
Kombat) to the seminal (King of 
Fighters '95), and despite the mam- 
moth number of other fighting titles in 
arcades and at home, SNK have decid- 
ed to develop and release yet another 
version of their successful Samurai 
Shodown series. Can a third instalment 
of Katana-wielding action hold up to 
the likes of Tekken 2 and Marvel Super 
Heroes, or is this the same game in a 
different package? 

Twelve characters are selectable, 
and all the extremely familiar options 
are available, but Shodown 3 benefits 
from a rather ingenious revamp in the 
shape of a choice of alignment and 
competence level, This initial choice of 
whether yo haracter follows the 
path of good or evil is an excellent 
addition as apart from cosmetic differ 
ences (such as a more menacing uni: 
form for the evil players), there are a 
number of special moves limited to 
good or evil samurais only, This adc 
to the already recognisable gamepla 
but all the characters have undergone 


OWIN 


NAKOROURY 


intense playtesting to ensure that they 
equal to each other with 
regards to their combat expertise 
(there is no overly powerful 
Earthquakes’ in this version of 
Shodown) at the start of a battle. 

The game itself plays excellently in 
two-player mode, and remains the 
same to the tried and tested Shodown 
formula, so expect no more and no 
less in that department. Combos are 
virtually nonexistent, with the fighters 
relying instead on timing to bring their 
weapon to bear as quickly as possible 
makes another 
appearance, with blows enraging each 
contestant until their maximum anger 
levels are reached - and a special 
move may be attempted. The word 

be st here, as 
a-moves are exception 
Il off in the heat of a 
fully 
Ss at a great disad 
1 to others. Other 
points in this game's favour are the 
lush backdrops that are constantly 
moving and change on the third round 
of each fight, and the music which is 


remain 


The usual Rage Gau! 


‘attempt’ should 
most of the ul 
ally difficult to p 
attle; a fault 1 
characte 
vantage compar 


at leaves some 


mostly experimental woopings and 
rhythmic clanking that co! 
the action beautifully. 


CHALLENGER 


plements 


— 


+ ociare Ny ff 


SRCREDITS: ue 


The only major fault with this game 
jifficulty level. The MAXIMUM 
team appreciate a difficult game, but 
Samurai Shodown 3 is difficult to an 
irritating degree. The first three stages 
are a doddle, but the fourth warrior to 
face (whoever the character is) blocks 
everything you can throw at them per 


is the 


fectly, and counters with some impos: 
sibly-timed moves. Then the combat 
ranges from stupidly easy to teeth: 
gnashingly difficult before a final devil: 
ish boss is faced in a fantastically 
detailed arena. 

Despite reservations regarding the 
difficulty level, this is an excellently 
detailed and extremely playable beat 
‘em up, maintaining SNK's usual high 
standards. The general beat ‘em up 
connoisseur may find that there is sim: 
ply nothing sufficiently different to war. 
rant a purchase, but Neo Geo 
Shodown fans certainly won't be dis: 
appointed. 

Pood 


.. BUT THANKS TO 


You 
WON’T BE ED TO A 
DIET OF LEFT-OVERS! 


PlayStation Plus January Issue on sale December 15th (Warning : contains more than one exclusive ingredient!) 


REBEL ASSAULT 2 


Rebel Assault was arguably the 
title that changed the face of PC gaming 
forever, and tempted thousands of PC 
users into purchasing CD-ROM drives 
with promises of unbelievable spooled 
visuals, fantastic digital sound and 
games of huge depth, length and playa: 
bility. The first Rebel Assault title scored 
highly on the first two points, but failed 
utterly in the playability department. 
Still, it sold by the bucket-load and 
became a cult game with nearly the 
strength of following and same status 
as Doom. And now, two years later, the 
sequel has arrived, promising smoother 
graphics and a greater challenge. Is this 
another leap forward in gaming technol- 
ogy, or merely a spruced-up version of 
the original with the same problems? 
We'll let you draw your own conclu- 
sions, but the visuals initially left us 
gasping for breath. With the exceptions 
of Philosoma and Krazy Ivan on the 
PlayStation, the MAXIMUM team had 
never experienced such crisp and free- 
flowing CG sequences as the ones intro- 
ducing Rebel Assault 2. The quality of 
these visuals should not be doubted; 
they are some of the finest yet witnessed 
‘on the PC. The only major fault is the out 
of sync mouth movements when char- 
acters spoke (due to the low frame rate 
of the animations), but this is still a vast 
improvement over the appallingly 
mouthed chatter of the first game. 
However, when the actual controllable 
action started, our enthusiasm started to 
falter, An initial mission sees the Rookie 
Rebel pilot (you) negotiating a series of 


corridors on an imperial cruiser in an 
attempt to gain control of a Millennium 
Falcon-style vessel. On foot and armed 


156 MAXIMUM »* THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZ 


with a blaster, you must halt at every pas- 
sageway junction to fire at stormtroopers 
that appear from one of up to four cor. 
ners. And that is it. Hardly Dark Forces. 
and not much challenge at all 

Once the Millennium-style ship is 
under your control, you must fly it to 
safety, and this is where our attitude to 
Rebel Assault 2 changed from uncer 
tainty to anger and frustration. After an 
impressive spooled flyby, your craft has 
to weave between beams and barriers 
that zoom towards you in the usual pre- 
rendered manner. As the first barrier 
approached, we opted to move the ship 
upwards to avoid it; only instead of a 
gliding ascent, our craft decided to 
twitch spasmodically and fall into the 
scenery, Unperturbed, we tried the 
same plan again at the next obstacle. 
and it worked, our vessel rose to avoid 
the metal beam, but hit the roof of the 


tunnel and was buffeted about while we 
frantically fought with the mouse in a 
vain attempt to steady the ship. We 
failed, and our brave rookie died in an 
impressive explosive inferno which was 
marvellous to watch, 

Unfortunately, the graphical splen: 
dour of the death scene wore a tad thin 
after the fifth time when we crashed into 
the tunnel walls again through no fault 
of our own. It was at this point that we 
experienced the underlying and funda: 
mental problem with both Rebel 
Assaults 1 and 2: The control system is 
the absolute pits; pure and simple. The 
description of our steering difficulties 
can be applied to the speeder bike level 
(which was a great graphical disap 
pointment after the hype), the TIE fight 
er stage, and the somewhat tedious X 
Wing attack levels where wave after 
wave of tie-fighters appear in the same 
formation. Whether using mouse or joy: 
stick, on every level of the game (bar 
the walk-throughs) the problem is the 
same; your vehicle jolts and twitches 
with a life of its own, and there is noth: 
ing you can do about it except to 
employ tiny steadying movements in 
the hope that the craft doesn't take 
offense to your attempt at contro! and 
vehemently bounce around the screen 

Although the overwhelming problem 
with Rebel Assault 2, controllability isn't 
the only failing, The game is straightfor- 


ward, easy to complete (unless set to 
one of the impossible difficulty levels) 
and although the in-game graphics are 
somewhat superior to the first title, they 
seem not to gel together as well into a 
continuous storyline, and the final level 
is something of an anticlimax (to put it 


tactfully). The sheer linearity of the 
game, coupled with poor acting from 
the assembled cast and less than 
impressive level design have succeed 
ed in creating an extremely disappoint: 
ing title that should only appeal to Star 
Wars junkies and masochistic fanatics 
of the original. Only the outstanding 
visuals, slick presentation and wealth of 
additional options saved this game's 
bacon. It will probably still be the 
Yuletide PC number one, though. 

ee 


TILT 


One of the first things that the devel- 
opment team who produced Tilt told 
us, was that they had done a tremen- 
dous amount of painstaking research 
to create a completely authentic pin- 
ball simulator. We're sure that this was 
due to diligence and commitment to 
their craft... and not because pinball 
machines are most often found lurking 
in the shady corners of public houses. 

Whatever the reason, it has certainly 
paid off, as Tilt is one of the most var. 
ied and realistic pinball sims we've 
seen yet. It's actually not quite as real 
istic to play as Empire's Pro Pinball, 
but with six tables to choose from as a 
posed to Pro’s one, Tilt's longevity 
more than makes up for the slight 


THE DIG 


Once more, the awesome might 
behind the “big screen” brings its influ- 
ence to PC gaming with the release of 
The Dig on PC CD-ROM. Written by 
Sean Clark and based on an idea by 
Steven Spielberg, this graphic adven: 
ture by LucasArts takes the traditional 
craft of archaeology far beyond the 
perimeters of our galaxy. 

In an attempt to prevent a collision 
with earth, Commander Boston Low 
takes a team into outer space to the 
Asteroid Attila. But this floating hunk of 
granite is not all it seems to be. 

It's actually an alien craft, which 
springs into life once disturbed and 
leaves the explorers stranded on an 
unfamiliar planet in the far reaches of 
the galaxy. 

Unlike many of LucasArts’ games so 
far, this is not a wacky and amusing 
adventure, but takes on an altogether 
more serious tone. 

When we first loaded it on to our PC, 
we were disappointed by the unimagi 
native and frankly, too obvious puzzles. 
But, after about 20 minutes of play we 


downgrading of performance. 

The tables on offer range from 
Gangsters to Space Quest, with view: 
ing options in either 2D scrolling, 3D 
full table or 3D scrolling. The rendered 
graphics are stunning, and notable for 
their accurate portrayal of the tradition: 
al tables, with some really nice touches 
in the reflective and transparent sur. 


were well and = truly hooked. 
Graphically stunning (though perhaps 
alittle dated in its style) with well devel 
oped storyline and characters, the puz- 
zles quickly became more challenging, 
and with the exception of one or two 
that were just too obscure, set at just 
the right level to keep a serious adven- 
ture freak rivetted (and not too hacked 
off. 

As the play progressed further, a 
modicum of the familiar humour began 
to seep through, and the atmospheric 
light-sourcing and sound effects creat. 
ed an altogether absorbing experi 
ence. 

We have no hesitation in recom 
mending this to all adventure fanatics, 
though inexperienced adventurers 


may want to wet their feet with some: 
thing a little less taxing first time out 
tke 


MAXIMUM REVIEWS 


faces 

Side-games and cut-scenes add 
some interesting variety and longevity 
to the play. 

An altogether authentic experience 
in pinball wizardry reasonably priced at 
£29,99, it's well worth taking for a spin. 
kek 


TEKWAR 


William Shatner is probably best 
known for his galaxy saving, alien 
shmoozing activities at the helm of the 
Starship Enterprise, and is undoubted- 
ly not short of a dollar or two, yet he 
still refuses to hang up his lycra body- 
‘suit and holster his phaser. 

His latest enterprise, if you will, is the 
conversion of his TekWar stories into 
an interactive game - with a little help 
from US development company 
Intracorp. 

TekWar is a 3D action-adventure, 
which involves not only plenty of first 
person action, but also requires a 
good deal of puzzling and strategy 
skills to conquer. Set in the year 2045, 
the city's authorities are unable to halt 
the distribution of a highly addictive 
(and often fatal) mind hallucinogenic 
called Tek. 

As a recently thawed ex-cop who 
has spent the last 5 years in cryogenic 
sleep, the player embarks upon a mis- 
sion to discover the secrets of the 
underworld TekLords’ consortium and 
restore justice to the crime ravaged 
streets of LA, Armed with a variety of 
weapons the mission is to seek out 
and arrest the seven territorial 
TekLords. 

Players are challenged by a number 
of enemy agents. But the bad guys are 
not always distinguishable from the 
good guys... draw a gun on a civilian 


THE VIDEO 


and the entire staff of the LA PD fall on 
you like a ton of bricks. About the only 
really negative comment about this 
game is that the baddies often start 
shooting when they are barely two pix- 
els high, which is very frustrating in a 
crowded high street as you flail your 
gun around aimlessly whilst your life 
points tick away to nothing 

Graphically stunning, TekWar uses 
the powerful "Bulld” engine, and with 
seven districts to explore freely it is 
very easy to immerse yourself fully in 
the environment - especially when you 
are in multi-player mode across a net 
work with up to 15 other gun wielding 
loonies 

In our opinion, at first glance it may 
look like another pretty Doom clone, 
but look a little closer and you'll see 
TekWar has enough new angles and 
ideas to make it stand as a cool game 
in its own right. 
ik 


GAME MAGAZINE + MAXIMUM 157 


MAXIMUM REVIEWS 


WORMS - Small invertebrates strike 
hack with high-calibre weaponry! 


Across the country, thousands of 
homes and offices are suffering from a 
serious case of worms. No, not the 
wriggly ones that make every house- 
hold pets life a misery, but the animat- 
ed sprites that have infested MAXI- 
MUM'S PCs, together with every other 
computer in the building. Team 17's 
new strategy game - Worms - is 
released this month on the PC, 
PlayStation and Saturn (see other sec- 
tions for reviews), and as you walk 
around the corridors of our office build- 
ing between the hours of 1pm and 
2pm, all that can be heard is the echo 
of tiny voices yelling abuse at each 
other. 

The game is similar in principle to 
Tanx, which appeared as a shareware 
game on the Amiga about 5 years ago, 
the aim being to protect your band of 
faithful worms, and blow the bananas 
out of everything else on the screen 
that wriggles. You'd be forgiven for 
thinking that this is yet another game in 
the Lemmings series, as the sprites 
and the style of the graphics are very 
similar. But in fact, what we are dealing 
with here is not suicidal Lemmings. 
but homicidal worms, who are hell 
bent on destruction. 

Players are provided with four hardy 
soldiers, and an array of weapons from 
straight forward bazookas to exploding 


STEEL PANTHERS 


Releasing on the PC CD this 
month is Mindscape's latest offering to 
the world of strategy games - Steel 
Panthers 

Based in war-torn Europe and the 
Pacific from 1939 to 1945, it puts play- 
ers in charge of a single squad or an 
entire battalion as any Allied or Axis 
nation. Players are provided with 
tanks, infantry, cavalry and a variety of 
additional support units with which to 
wage war. 

As with most games of this genre, 
graphically it is not exactly stunning. 
but this is an acquired taste. Ask any 
hardened fan and they'll tell you that 
it's the depth of gameplay that is truly 


sheep. In fact, there are thirteen 
weapons to choose from, as well as a 
number of options, such as teleport- 
ing, ninja roping and bungey jumping, 
to help players to manoeuvre their 
worms into the best strategic positions 
possible 

The games developers claim a mas- 
sive four billion fractal generated land- 
scapes to choose from, but as the first 
couple of airstrikes take huge chunks 
out of the scenery, the difference it 
makes is mostly cosmetic (unless 
you're unfortunate enough to have 
75% of your team on a bridge, sus- 
pended 150 feet above a lake of 
molten lava, and some joker leaves a 
stick of dynamite conveniently on your 
man's head). With smooth parallax 
scrolling to view the action, and some 
genuinely funny animated cut-scenes 
Worms looks great, and the little fellas 
comments as they get blown to 
smithereens are really quite entertain- 
ing (especially gratifying when you get 
an “Oi, nutter!” - but you do have to 
obliterate one of your own men for this 
particular gem). 

So, how does it play? Well, as a 
group playing against each other it's 
totally addictive once you've gotten 
into it - or should that be, if you've got- 
ten into it. 


Played on your own however, 


important, From the producers of 
Warlord | and Il, Steel Panthers is 
everything you'd expect, with authentic 
WWII footage and over 200 digitised 
photographs of tanks adding an inter. 
esting dimension to the proceedings. 
‘A must for any war game guru. 

ek 


MAXIMUM * THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


DAZE 


against computer generated oppo- 
nents, the social aspect of hurling 
abuse at a bunch of mates whilst trying 
desperately to sabotage their efforts to 
stay in the game is missing, In this way 
Worms is mildly entertaining on occa- 
sion, but erring on the side of sad to be 
honest. 

Team 17 tell us that there will be a 
data disk available after Christmas to 
allow players to link up to 16 PCs via a 
network and play Worms en mass. 
This sounds like a great idea, but wor- 
ries us slightly in that there are a possi- 
ble 4 teams per PC, with 4 worms in 
each team. Performing some basic 
arithmetic will tell you that this means a 


SU-27 F 


One of the most terrifying things 
about flight sims is not the speed and 
altitude of travel, but the size of the 
damn manual. You know you're in for a 
long night the minute you pull the box 
of the shelf and throw it on to your desk 
with a thud. 

Well, not being ones to disappoint, 
Mindscape have stayed true to tradi 
tion with the release of their military 
flight simulator - SU-27 Flanker - for 
Windows '95 on the PC CD. Based in 
Crimea, your mission as an ace pilot of 
‘one of the worlds best combat jets - 
the SU-27 - is to seek out and destroy 
the enemy. You can take up with either 
side in this conflict between Russian 
forces and Ukrainian militia, but be 
warned, leave the innocent civilians 
alone or there'll be trouble on an 
international scale. 

Mindscape have worked closely 
with Russian Aerospace professionals, 
to produce a game that is extremely 
accurate, right down to the effects of 
the elements on your weaponry sys- 
tem. In fact, it's a bit of an insult to the 
programming team to call it a game - 


WIND 


potential assembly of 256 of the little 
beggars on one landscape. The pro- 
grammers will either have to greatly 
increase the size of the landscape 
(which could degrade the gameplay) 
or limit the number of teams who can 
play - otherwise it will be a bit like plac- 
ing the entire population of the UK on 
the Isle of Wight and dropping a nuke 
on them! 

The verdict? Worms in company is 
an experience that some would say is 
one of the ultimate gamesplaying 
experiences. However, the aforemen- 
tioned “some’ fails to include any of 
the MAXIMUM team whatsoever. 
tik 


ANKER 


more of an experience. We're assured 
by the experts that it's the closest you 
can get to flying the SU-27 without 
actually leaving solid ground - and 
we'd tend to believe them. It took us 
hours of patient reading and practice 
to become skilled at negotiating the 
Crimean terrain, but if you have the 
time and the inclination, it's an experi- 
ence worth having. 

Graphically, it's everything you'd 
expect, with authentic sound effects 


and superbly detailed gameplay, but 
it's not a game for the half hearted, 
only serious flight sim fans need apply. 
toe 


MONOPOLY 


During the height of the 1930s 
depression in the United States, an 
unemployed heating engineer named 
Charles B Darrow had a brain wave, 
and designed the board game that we 
now recognise as Monopoly. Across 
the country families gather together for 
Christmas and Easter celebrations. 
and sure enough at some point in the 
proceedings that faithful old red and 
white box gets pulled out from under 
the drinks cabinet and dusted down for 
another marathon session of wheeler 
dealing 

There is cheating, dodgy dealings, 
and very often punches are thrown 
across the table (well, they are in my 
house), as your nearest and dearest 
display a sudden and disturbing case 
of greed. With alll this in mind, one has 
to beg the question “Is it wise for 
Hasbro to take this experience to new 
levels of technology? 

In our opinion - yes. 

Far from desecrating this traditional 
old relic it brings a fresh new dimen- 
sion to the game, with high resolution 
3D animated cut-scenes to represent 


MANIC 


Virgin's latest offering to the rac: 
ing game genre is Manic Karts, a lawn 
mower engined, tubular framed chal: 


lenge against the clock - with seven 
other lunatics bashing you from behind 
at every opportunity. It looks strikingly 


similar to Super Karts, which Virgin 
release last year, so how can they jus: 
tify this remake to the buying public? 

Players can compete in either a sin: 
gle race, or one of three championship 
seasons of differing skill levels. The are 
16 tracks in eight different countries to 
compete on, each with its own unique 
problems to overcome. Choices of Kart 
are limited to engine size - 50cc up to 
250ce - but these can be suped up by 
buying accessories such as turbo 
charged fuel and super grip tyres with 
cash winnings from the league. If all 
these options (coupled with skill on the 
track, of course) fail to put competitors 
in poll position - then they can always 
cheat by bribing race officials and 
gaining valuable points on the league 
table. 

With smooth scrolling, texture- 
mapped graphics, Manic Karts looks 


the tokens moving around the board 
and landing on various properties. 

Monopoly can be played by up to 
six players, with Al characters each 
with their own personality to compete 
against if you can't find anyone to take 
you on. But there's really no excuse for 
this, as it also has the option to link-up 
via a network or patch into the internet 
and play a Transatlantic match. The 
street names and currency are con- 
verted in real time, and the rule book 
can be customised to suit all partici- 
pants (even cheating is permissible if 
you can get away with it) 

Rounded off with a 1930s Ragtime 
beat to jolly things along, Monopoly is 
good clean family entertainment of a 
traditional nature gone hi-tech. The 
question you have to ask yourself is. 
are the on-line options and cute ani- 
mations worth the extra fifteen quid it'll 
cost you over the price of the board 
game? 
kek 


good and plays quite fast. The tracks 
are all very different and offer a lot of 
variety, but the first couple were a bit 
too easy for our liking, 

Not terribly original, but at the price 
of £19.99... it's not a bad buy. 
bik 


MAXIMUM REVIEWS| 


11TH HOUR 


Following the storming success 
of The 7th Guest, which was the first 
CD-ROM title to hit the High Street, 
Virgin have been putting their minds to 
the creation of the sequel - 11th Hour - 


which is released on the PC this 
month. Finally. 

The 7th Guest received mixed criti- 
cisms, as the innovative style and 
gameplay were offset with what some 
might call the arbitrary use of some 
shocking scenes. Virgin argued that 
the nastier scenes were a necessary 
part of establishing the atmosphere of 
the Hammer House of Horror style sto- 
ryline, but nonetheless they have defi- 
nitely toned down the gore in 11th 
Hour. 


The major question is. 
effected the gameplay? 
Players join TV reporter Carl 
Denning as he begins a quest to find 
his researcher (and lover) Robin 


how has this 


Morales, who has vanished whilst 
investigating the rotting abandoned 
mansion of the legendary toy maker 
Henry Staut, 

Once inside the decrepit house he 
finds himself confronted with puzzles 
and conundra, which once solved 
reveal pieces of video footage that take 
him further along the path to finding 
Robin 

The graphics in 11th Hour are stun- 
ning, with an awesome lighting effect 
from Carl Denning’s torch as the 
explores the nooks and crannies of the 
haunted mansion. 

Played in the first person, the puz: 
zles are real brain benders, and chal: 
lengers will definitely need the help of 


the psychic voice that offers assistance 
if they get stuck 

In addition, the storyline is genuine 
ly intriguing and the FMV sequences 
between stages had us glued to our 
PC. Undoubtedly the way to get the 
most out of this game is in a darkened 
room with the volume up high 

It's compelling gameplay with a real 
twist at the end... All this just goes to 
prove that gratuitous violence is not 
the main ingredient to making a great 
game. 

However, the bottom line is that 11th 
Hour is basically a more advanced ver- 
sion of 7th Guest. If you liked that, fine 
If you want more from your CD-ROM 
interactive experience, it would be best 
to look elsewhere. 
tek 


IE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE » MAXIMUM 159 


RETURN FIRE: MAPS 0’ DEATH 


The MAXIMUM team breathed a 
collective sigh of relief when the expan: 
sion disc for Return Fire came in, as we 
finally had a 3DO release worthy of 
review space (and even a small 
Extended Play), For those unaware of 
this game's predecessor, Return Fire 
was the first (and seemingly only) 300 
title to feature an in-depth and highly 
playable game peculiar only to that sys- 
tem. Seeing that the success of the 
game wasn't likely to be repeated for a 
while, Silent Software seemed to have 
sat down and spent the intervening time 
creating an expansion disc, as they 
knew they had a quality product that 
could be added to. 

This has lead to the appallingly- 
named ‘Maps O' Death’, which features 
100 new missions designed to test the 
mettle of the very finest Retum Fire 
fanatics. Providing you have the original 
Return Fire game, you're in for another 
oad of levels from the cunningly warped 
minds of Silent Software, Expect horribly 


FOES OF 


The signs of that elusive 300 qual- 
ity product are here; Electronic Arts 
have developed a boxing simulator 
that hopes to eclipse the likes of JVC 
Victory Boxing and Boxers’ Road. In 
their attempts to reach that goal, they 
have pulled out all the stops graphical- 
ly, $0 that the visuals really do add an 
air of professionalism to a beleaguered 
machine; the polygon fighters are 
almost on a par with the JVC title, fea 
turing textured-mapped skin and 
detailed faces that suffer bruising and 
cuts during the bouts. 

The game itself sees you playing as 
‘one of this century's supreme fighters, 
Muhammed Ali, on a journey through 
his career and string of fighting suc- 


difficult theatres of war with less vehicles 
available and some decidedly odd 
scenery (such as the chessboard and 
SOS levels), all of which makes the 
Return Fire sequel an excellent 300 
addition. 

Owners of the original know the qual- 
ity of the title already, and those wonder- 
ing what the Return Fire experience is all 
about can find out more in our Extended 
Play, but the main selling point of Maps 
O'Death is the relatively low price tag of 
the second add-on (£20), making it all 
the more tempting to buy. Be warned 
however, that this expansion is simply 
more of the same; there is no extra 
scenery or vehicles to discover, just dif- 
ferently positioned enemy encamp- 
ments for you to encounter. Having said 
that, Maps O' Death was a thoroughly 
enjoying return to the original game, and 
a chance to remember just how well 
constructed it was. 

Providing you remember that this 
only an expansion disc with no new 


cesses. There is also the opportunity to 
play as any of his opponents, and in 
any combination, as well as a compre- 
hensive list of other features that you 
would expect from the programmers 
over at EA. A multitude of camera 
angles add to the excitement some- 
what, as the fight can be viewed at any 


160 MAXIMUM = THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE 


graphics (but is a low-cost addition con- 
sisting of huge numbers of well con: 
structed levels), this is an essential pur- 
chase for the 3D0 player. This is more of 
the same, and fortunately ‘the same’ 
was exceptional to begin with - leading 


point from the roof to the eyes of your 
own boxer. Most of the angles are for 
show, and only a few can be used 
effectively in the ring itself, 

Playability is the overriding factor 
here, and at first the fighting gels 
together rather well, but that actual 
punching and weaving isn't that fluid; 


toa MAXIMUM recommendation. If only 
the current crop of original 300 software 
packed as much clout. 

ford 


consisting of moderately-animated 
jabs and hooks. Without perseverance, 
these boxing rounds can turn into sim 
ple button-hammering affairs with your 
pugilists exchanging blows in a rather 
tedious fashion. Learn special tech 
niques and timing however, and your 
bouts can change into something 
approaching excitement, although the 
fights themselves never become fever- 
pitch battles. 

This is a well-crafted and solid 300 
release that should suit boxing simula- 
tors’ needs adequately, but didn’t have 
the necessary excitement to hold our 
interest in an increasingly expansive 
sea of next generation software 
tke 


MAXIMUM REVIEWS 


’ed-A fine 3D blasting adventure at last? 


PO’ed had been in development 
for months, and we were initially quite 
thankful for the finished PAL version to 
be actually available given the long 
wait endured by 300 Doom fanatics 
craving a decent bit of 3D action. This 
was hoped to be a credible stop-gap 
until the id classic finally materialised; 
and some were even expecting it to 
topple Doom from its lofty pedestal. 
Unfortunately, PO'ed is none of the 
things it set out to be. It has, however, 
managed to acquire the dubious title of 
worst 3D action title ever seen on any 
format’, with the exception of 
PlayStation Crime Crackers and some 
early PC public-domain games 


ALONE | 


Infogames have created some 
‘of the most memorable PC titles in the 
past five years, and none more so than 
the Alone in the Dark trilogy. When 
they first released the original game, it 
was hailed as a major breakthrough, 
and the second (and more involved) 
game received even greater praise, 
Now the PC games player has moved 
‘on, demanding more interaction and 
superior graphics, whereas the 3D0. 


(indeed, the graphics and gameplay 
are very reminiscent of such past 
atrocities), As any prospective buyer of 
3D0 games should know, the machine 
has suffered from a huge number of 
terrible software releases since the 
launch (along with a few gems along 
the way), but nothing prepared us for 
the phenomenally low quality of this 
title. 

There simply are no innovative, new 
or entertaining aspects to this game. 
What it does have in abundance are 
negative points which obviously do the 
game (and the machine) no favours 
whatsoever. Starting with the graphics, 
it seems that Any Channel have 
attempt a vague stab at a new and 
improved 3D graphics engine. The 
result is a constantly glitching environ- 
ment with untextured (and unshaded) 
floors, and paper-thin 2D slopes and lift 
platforms. Worse still are the wall tex- 
tures when viewed in detail - they don't 
80 much glitch as warp and convulse 
across the screen - this is polygon fold- 
ing at its very worst, and is a very dis- 


heartening example of the 3D0's 3D 
handling abilities 

Worse still are monsters inhabiting 
the area you start from. In an effort to 
inject a degree of wacky American 
humour’ into this title, the program- 
mers have designed the primary adver- 
saries to be walking bottoms and giant 
lips (although the ‘hilarious’ manual 
describes them as mutant dogs, or in 
their words: “Man's best friend... not!”), 
with semi-naked females carrying 
bazookas to follow. The main problem 
here is one of pixelation; when any 
enemy walks even remotely near to 
your character, they turn horribly 
blocky and loose the small amount of 
detail they once had, 

Yet there is worse to come. The 
weapons are also a vain attempt at 
injecting humour into the action, with 
your initial item consisting of a frying 
pan (as you are the cook on board a 
space ship), followed by a butcher 
knife and the familiar-sounding BFD90. 
The final insult came in the form of the 
control system, which was disgraceful 


to say the least. Your character's 
momentum sometimes moves him of 
his own accord, and any jumps you 
make onto moving platforms are left up 
to chance rather than precision, A truly 
unbelievable control method, and the 
final nail in the coffin for this travesty of 
a game. 

Any Channel have managed to cre- 
ate a title with less to offer the 300 
punter than even Wolfenstein 3D could 
manage; which is no mean feat. The 
3D0 company should hang their col- 
lective heads in shame for releasing 
such unbelievable tripe on the unsus- 
pecting public. Many more games of 
this nature, and this could be the death 
of the 3D0. Any owner of the so-called 
‘wonder machine’ should be greatly 
worried by the ongoing situation. Avoid 
this garbage at all costs 
* 


THE DARK - Edward Carnahy’s 
zombie nightmare! 


player seems to be stuck in years gone 
by, finding that the choice of many cur- 
rent 3D0 releases are simple port- 
overs of age-old PC titles that simply 
don't cut the mustard anymore. 

So after the debacle that was 
Wolfenstein 3D, beleaguered 3D0 


‘owners can now feast their eyes on a 
two-year old PC release; Alone in the 
Dark 2. When the original version of 
Alone 2 was made available in the dim 
and distant past, it was generally held 
as an entertaining adventure title that 
relied too heavily on random gun com- 


gons, a smaller screen size and a 
chugging frame rate, Slow-loading 
antics aside, the game is an entertain- 
ing and genuinely atmospheric horror 
story, but only if you've never seen an 
Alone in the Dark title before, and can 
cope with the problems present in this 


lh hai release 3D0 update of PC classic 


bat. Now the 3D0 version has arrived, 
prospective buyers can look forward to 
exactly the same game, but with inferi- 
or visuals. 

It seems rather unfortunate that the 
3DO copy arrived at exactly the same 
time as the PlayStation version of 
Alone in the Dark 2. The Sony conver- 
sion boasts texture-mapped charac- 
ters moving at higher speeds and with 
less loading time, whilst the poor old 
3D0 struggles with flat shaded poly- 


conversion, 
This is another elderly port-over that 
should have been available (and con- 
verted to run acceptably quickly) at 
least a year ago, and once again 
shows a distressing lack of innovative 
and quality software on Trip Hawkins’ 
wonder machine. 
+e 


THE VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE * MAXIMUM 161 


THE NEXT ISSUE OF 


MUM 


The next edition of MAXIMUM promises to yield a wealth of information ~expect to see in-depth coverage on Sega's next generation of arcade hits. We'll 
be taking apart the likes of Manx TT SuperBike and AM2’s frankly excellent Fighting Vipers. The latter title in particular has come in for a bit of undeserved 
criticism - mainly from people who haven't played it. We tell you why it is worthy Successor to the excellent Virtua Fighter 2. Speaking of which, our VF2 cpv- 
erage continues apace with the first in our series of in-depth features on getting the most out of each character. The secrets of Saturn Virtua Cop are revealed, 
along with an in-depth feature on Battle Area Toshinden 2 on PlayStation:(providing it meets MAXIMUM's expectation of quality). Other planned Extended 
Plays include the Saturn debut for Treasure - Guardian Heroes - an aweSome sprite-based RPG/adventure/beat ‘em up. Also expect some excellent gear on 
the forthcoming PlayStation edition of Street Fighter Alpha - including an interview with the R&D staff behind this first decent PlayStation sprite-based beat 
‘em up. 

In terms of news, expect great things. First port of call for the MAXIMUM team will be the ATBI shbw in January, where Namco will be revealing their new 
games including Soul Edge (where this rather excellent artwork originates fy 

All of this is pretty much in the bag - and there's plenty more to look ‘ote 
eration console gaming - expect no subst d substitutes: 


rr “ft MAXIMUM stands for quality in the field of arcade and next gen- 


ZINE SOUL EDGE ART © 1995 NAMCO LTD., ALL Ric 


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COMPUTER 


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FIFA ’96 

Electronic Arts top rated 
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THIS MONTHS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED GAMES 


HERE IS JUST A SELECTION OF SOME OF THE OTHER GREAT TITLES AVAILABLE 


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